turning point
by eimaj
Summary: Sookie is attacked in the night by an unfamiliar vampire and is turned
1. Chapter 1

"Sam!" I yelled. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and walked around the corner of the bar. I walked down the hallway, my feet clicking on the polished floors. I shook my hair out with my hand and knocked on Sam's office door with my other hand.

"Yah." He called. I opened the door and poked my head in.

"I'm gunna take off." I told him as I grabbed my purse off of the shelf.

"Oh, okay. Tomorrows your day off, right?" he asked, stifling through papers on his desk.

"Yah, do you need me to come in?" I paused at the door, looking back at him.

"No, no. I'm just trying to figure out schedules." He muttered. Normally I would have asked to help him and he would have said yes, and I would sit there for an hour and a half figuring it out with him, but today was just not my day.

"Sam, I'm real sorry, I can't stay to help you tonight. I've got to get my car from the repair shop and then pick Jason up from the airport." I said.

"That's fine, Sookie." Sam said, lifting his head long enough to give me a small smile.

"How're you getting to the repair shop?" he asked as he opened a drawer to retrieve a paper.

"Oh, I called a taxi. It's waiting out front now." I said, trying not to seem like I was in too much of a rush.

"Alright. Tell Jason I said hi." He said. I smiled and walked out the door, back down the hallway, around the corner of the bar, and out the front door. The night was cool. It was around 10 o'clock, and the day's heat was just starting to diminish. I looked around for the taxi, but didn't see it. I sighed and went to sit down on the bench by the doors. I fished a small clip out of my purse and pulled my hair back out of my face. I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes, lacing my fingers over my stomach.

"Hello Sookie." A familiar voice said directly behind my right ear. I jumped to my feet, my heart skipping a beat.

"Jesus Christ Eric! For ONCE could you stand in front of me and not try to scare me to death?" I asked, trying to calm my heart. His familiar, cocky smile filled my vision.

"What are you doing here all alone?" he asked, slowly walking around the bench with his hands behind his back.

"I'm waiting for my taxi." I muttered, turning around to look at the road. It was eerily empty.

"Oh, I canceled your taxi." He admitted with absolutely no shame. My eyes widened.

"Eric! I need to get the shop! Like now!" I exclaimed, groaning. "Now I'm going to have to walk ten miles. Thank you Eric, I really appreciate it." I turned on my heal and started to walk away. Of course he kept pace with me easily.

"I thought I would give you a ride." He said raising his eyebrows.

"Why do I feel like that has two meanings?" I muttered. His cold and humorless laugh filled the night.

"You'd really rather walk ten miles then take a quick car ride with me?" he asked sweetly.

"Yes."

"Well, I didn't want to have to drag you to the car kicking and screaming. Actually, I sort of did want to. But I'd much rather you go of your own accord." He said. I could hear the smile in his voice, and I knew he meant it with all of his dead heart.

"Shit." I muttered as I turned around and followed him to his sleek black jaguar. He was such a show off. He held the door open for me and I slid into the leather seat. Quick as a flash he was around the other side and in the driver's seat.

"Where is Bill?" he asked as he started the car.

"Oh, wow, you're so funny Eric. Like you would forget he went to Lorena?" I laughed and stared out the window so I wouldn't have to look at him. The car purred to life and we were on the road in the next second.

"Ah yes, so he did." He muttered. "So who is your next target?" he asked.

"Don't get your hopes up, Eric." I snapped. He chuckled.

"Don't worry, Sookie. I'm only looking for one thing from you." He winked at me and I shuddered.

"Wow, Eric, you sure know how to make a woman feel special." I said, and then turned to look back out the window.

"You won't give me just one night?" he asked leaning towards me and whispering into my ear.

"God, I rather kill myself." I shuddered again with the thought. He turned into the driveway of the shop.

"How fast were you driving?" I shouted as I climbed out of the car.

"You now I like to go fast." He said, smiling over the top of his car.

"Ugh, go to hell, Eric." I snapped as I walked into the shop, his laughter ringing behind me. I walked up to the woman standing by the counter.

"Sookie Stackhouse." I said.

"Ah, yes. Your car is parked around back. If you could just sign these forms." She said, slipping me some paper.

I was on the road in another ten minutes, driving twenty miles over the speed limit. I tried not to look at the clock because every time I did I felt more and more guilty. I was going to be at least half an hour late. Jason was going to be so mad. I turned the radio up and tried to calm down. Eric seemed to always tie my insides into a knot. The difficult part was untying them. I took a deep breath in, deep breath out. I closed my eyes for a second as I breathed in, and then opened them as I breathed out. And then closed them, and then opened them. And in time to see the man standing in the middle of the road. I screamed and turned the wheel sharply. My car cleared his pale skin by an inch, but with not enough road to get good grip, it spun out of control. I did a complete 360 turn, and then it flipped over. I screamed as my seat belt snapped and I was thrown to the roof, and then to the seat where I hit my head on the dash board. Then I flipped again, and my arm landed at an impossible angle, resulting in a sickening snap. I screamed louder, and fell to the seat again, knocked almost unconscious. It spun once more, then fell to the ground with a thud. The windows exploded, cutting into me and covering me with glass. I stopped screaming, and the car stopped rolling. I tried to call out, but I choked on blood, and began coughing. I tried to unfold myself on the roof, but cried out in pain whenever my arm moved. I looked out one of the smashed window, and watched a pair of boots, black leather, walk slowly towards the car. I couldn't locate the face. All I saw were black jeans and a tick belt. Something rose in my throat, an odd sound that was half way between crying and screaming. The boots stopped right besides the car. I could hear him breath in deeply, then groan in pleasure. I watched his knees bend, and he knelt on one leg. His head bent down and he looked into the window, directly into my eyes. I never knew someone could have pure, black eyes. How could someone be filled with so much evil and hate that it is shown like a painting in their eyes? His hair was short, just brushing his eyebrows. It was as black as his eyes, glossy and shinning. He smiled when he saw me, and with a sort of pop, his fangs were produced. This time I really did scream. He reached into the car and pulled me out in half a second. I screamed again as my arm flopped lifelessly. He seemed to get more excited, the more I screamed. His eyes would grow darker, and he would growl from deep in the back of his throat. I was lifted to me my feet which wouldn't support me. They shook and trembled. One of his arms circled around my chest, pinning my arms to my side. I whimpered and he purred in response. My back was pressed against him, making it so I couldn't see what he was doing. I felt his fangs graze my neck and I cried out in fear.

"Please." I begged. He lightly nipped my shoulder and I felt the first tears spring into my eyes. He was going to kill me, and he wasn't going to think about my pain in the process. I'd never really thought about dying, not even when I was dating someone who was already dead. It always seemed to skim over my head, pass me by without a second thought. And now I wasn't prepared when it beat me down ruthlessly. He groaned as he inhaled my scent.

"You smell so sweet." He growled.

"Just let me go." I whispered, pleaded. My breathing was coming quicker, faster. "Please." I cried.

I knew it was about to happen two seconds before it did. He took a giant breath in and it sounded like he hissed. I felt a slight whistle of wind on my neck as he moved faster than light, and bent in. When his fangs sank in, it didn't hurt. It felt like getting a shot, just a little pin prick. But then he started to take my blood. The screams started then, long and loud. They pierced through the night air, louder than I thought possible. Being drained against your will is nothing like getting bit for pleasure. Not even close. I always let Bill bite me. We both enjoyed it. But when you're struggling and unwilling to lose any blood for the monster attacking you, it's like nothing you've ever felt. It felt like my life, my spirit, everything I've ever seen funny or happy, was leaving me. I felt like my very soul was being slowly ripped from me. Every nightmare I've ever had flashed before me, every pain, every broken bone or torn tendon I've ever had was refreshed in my memory, and my nerves. All of those disgusting things that make my skin crawl seemed to surround me. The people I hated most screamed in my head and the night air chilled to the extreme. Soon I couldn't scream any longer. My legs collapsed beneath me, and the vampire lowered me to the ground. H knelt and continued to suck the blood. It happened faster than I thought possible. The fear, destruction, hate, and disgust only grew in my mind, as I became weaker and weaker, unable to fight them back. I tried to keep my eyes open, but they were getting so heavy, like weights were tied to both of them. His arm dropped from my chest to bend my head further to the side so he could get to a better angle. I tried to push his head away, to claw at his face and pull at his hair, but that lasted for only thirty seconds before my arms collapsed to my side and my whole body seemed to give away. I fought real hard, pushed at the darkness that threatened to drown me. With a gasp and a squelching noise, he pulled back.

"Mmm," he groaned. I fell to the ground in a heap, suddenly released from the horrible pain. I tried to take a breath in, but failed. I could only take short gasps that didn't satisfy my need for air. "Better than I expected." I heard him whisper from some distant place. I tried to talk, but failed. It came out as a sort of gurgle. He crawled around in front of me so I could see him bite his wrist. His lip curled back as he pressed it against my mouth. Gathering any strength I could, I twisted my head away and let the blood dribble out of my mouth.

"No." I gurgled, moving my head away when he placed it back towards my mouth. I knew he was going to kill me, that much was obvious. Half way through I prepared myself for oblivion, for a never ending abyss. Not ever did I expect it to be worse, to be turned into a vampire. I could not, I would not, let him do that to me. But I was in no position to fight back. He hissed and gripped the back of my neck to keep me from moving. The tears spilled down my cheeks as he held his wrist to me. There was no way I could stop the blood from dripping down my throat. My body started shaking and I was moaning, trying to move away. How could he do this? Why was he doing this? Why couldn't he leave me to die on this road? I would have been happier if he had done that. Much, much happier.

"Sookie!" someone yelled from away. I had never heard so much fear and anger mixed into someone's voice. Instantly I was dropped onto the ground, blood still dripping from my chin. He appeared above me, fangs glistening white in the sky. He looked so tall when he was standing. His eyes widened as he looked down at me. He turned to look at the car, then me, then around the woods. "Sookie." He said again. I smiled. He looked so pretty in the moonlight, his hair shinning like it was glowing and his skin pale, like my own, giant angel.

"Hi." I whispered. He knelt down beside me, lifting me to lean against his knee. He tilted my head to see the bite mark and growled. His fangs seemed to get longer. Weird.

"You're fangs are shinny." I whispered, my eyes drooping shut.

"Sookie, stay awake. Stay with me Sookie." Eric growled, shaking me so that my eyes opened. I watched him bite his wrist, the same way the other vampire did. I knew there was a reason I shouldn't take it. There was a reason I shouldn't drink the thousand year old blood that was readily given to me at the moment. I turned my head to the side so I wouldn't have to drink it.

"Sookie, honey, look at me." He whispered. His voice sounded soft, gentle, caressing me to my inner core. I turned my head to see him staring down at me with incredible blue eyes. "I need you to drink. Drink, Sookie." My eyebrows knit together in determination. I turned my head away again, like a child. "Sookie, pleased rink. Stay with me Sookie, stay with me." He begged. He sounded so hurt, so pained. His voice was drifting away like it was being carried on a current. I wanted it to stay with me, to keep holding me close. I wanted his words to wrap around my mind and keep me warm in the cold, freezing night. I turned my head back, my eye glistening with new tears. I felt my lower lip tremble as he slowly pressed his cold wrist against my mouth. I watched his face, watched the blood slowly escape the corner of his eyes and leave a trail down his cheek. Odd, I'd never seen him cry since Godric. Never thought he would cry over me of all people. It was so unlike Eric. I hated seeing him this hurt, this sad. I wanted him back to normal. So I took the blood and let it slide down my throat like a cold drink. It tingled on my tongue, left a trail of energy down my throat. His eyes became hard as he watched me take in his blood, and then without warning, I dropped away, sliding off of his knee because he was off guard, and there was no way to support my weight. I felt my throat close up, and my breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened, and the last thing I saw as a human was Eric's panicked face, begging me to try.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment I opened my eyes, I was fully awake. I was on high alert, my senses spiked to the point where it breached painful. My fingers tingled with the sensation of dirt under my finger. Every grain rolled over my skin, tickling me and sending tingles down my spine. I could smell the thick, dense, fresh scent of the dirt. I inhaled, filling my lungs with the smell. But for some reason that didn't feel right. I tried it again, opening my mouth to taste the air. Not only did it feel odd and unnecessary, but it was amazing what I could identify in the air.

I focused on the scent of trees, the taste sliding over my tongue.

"Mm." I groaned. I could hear the wind crawling its way through the grass. My eyes scanned a black sky, filled with millions of stars. Absolutely beautiful. I felt so connected to everything at that moment. I felt like the world was mine, like we were one. My finger curled into the dirt, taking a handful of the soft, cool substance. It went into my finger nails, rolled over my skin, and fell to the ground. I groaned.

I sat up and was faced with a wall of dirt. As much it excited me and filled me with strength to be this close to Earth, I wanted to get out. My legs felt strong and secure when I stood up, and my bare toes cvurled in the dirt. Only then did I register the fact that I was completely naked. I didn't feel self conscious because for one, no one was around, and two, it felt so pure to be exposed and open like this. I was in a hole that reached higher than my head. I reached my arm up, noticing the paleness of my skin. I felt the ground above the whole, let the grass lace through my fingers. I gripped it tightly, pulling my body forward. I gripped another cluster of grass as fast as ic ould before my first grip was broken. I dug my toas into the wall of dirt, pushing myself up. The power in my muscles was incredauble. They moved so fast, one foot climbing higher than the other and so on. I was out in half a second. I was on my hands and knees, looking at grass.

I couldn't remember ever looking at grass in my life. It was such an odd feeling, mixed in with the even more peculiar sense of pureness. I knew what it was just by looking at it, grass. But usually that would trigger something in your memory. You wouldn't just know what it was called, but you would know what it felt like, what it smelled like, and maybe even what it tasted like. I knew none of that until this moment. I was experiencing it for the first time.

My curiosity was replaced with panic. I had no idea where I was. I knew I was int hr ground for some bizarre reason. I knew I was in the middle of a forest. I knew it was night time. But I had no idea where in the forest I was, or what day it was, or why I was in the ground in the first place. Why did I feel so close to Nature and Earth and life? Why were my senses so acute and accurate? I could hear the heart beat of a doe that was grazing half a mile away. I could smell it's blood, sickly sweat, coursing through its veins. From half a mile away! But the worst part was, I had no idea who I was.

I found myself roaming the forest, unsure of what I was supposed to be doing. My throat felt like it was tearing away, bleeding acid, being clawed out, take oyu pick. But the fact was, it hurt like hell. My stomach was rolling and turning in need. I was hungry, and I had no idea what I was supposed to eat. I wanted so badly to stop and touch all of the trees. I wanted to roll my finger over the leaves of ferns. I wanted to smell every flower, and notice every grain of dirt. But I needed to find someone, some place. There had to be somebody who knew who I was.

Before I realized it, I was following the trail the doe had left. I could smell its scent thick and full in the air. When I turned in a different direction, the scent would lower, not be as strong, so I would turn until I found it again. I noticed the hair on the ground, noticed the scent it carried. I analyzed the foot prints as I walked by, knew they belong to the doe. And I watched it graze in a clearing when I finally found it. Its sleek fur glistened in the moonlight. Its eyes were black and focused on the patch of luscious grass it was chewing on. Even beneath the skin, I could see the viens carrying the heart beat, and better yet, the blood. Thick and running free, hidden from my sight for the moment. Something else took over at that moment.

I felt a pressure in my gums by my canine as something extended, cold and hard like teeth. But it seemed so weird that they would suddenly show up. I ran my tongue over them, my eyes never leaving the doe. They were sharp and piercing, and before I knew it, my tongue was bleeding with a slice in it. I didn't realize until later that the tingling in my tongue was it heeling. My upper lip lifted to revela the fangs as my tongue continued to roll over them lazily. My eyes bored into the deer, so simple and pure, standing there like a sacrifice. I could feel my muscles tensing, my toes digging into the dirt to get traction. And with a growl that came deep and unexpectedly from my throat, I launched myself into the clearing.

To feel the wind on your face as you move faster than human thought, is something you don't forget. To be the top predator, feel the fear of the things beneath you, is something you cherish. And to attack, let out all of oyur emotions in one fluid bite or twist of the neck, well it's like nothing before. You feel so powerful and in control, like nothing could tear you down, but you could tear everything down if you wanted to do. But then you taste animal blood, and everything comes crashing down around you. She was dead already, i did it the moment I touched her. But her blood was so bitter, unlike the smell. It slid down my throat, leaving a shuddering taste. I fell to my knees and gagged, trying to get it out of my system. And when I finished the disturbing process, I felt weaker than I had before. My legs trembled when I stood. I felt my skin dropping and my stomach clench painfully in hunger. I walked ont hrought the woods, leaving the doe in the clearing. I felt no remorse for killing it. What was the use for mourning over something that was already dead? It would only slow me down. And I could not afford that at the moment. I was dying, slowly, but surly.

When the thrill of the kill left my body, I was left with an aching tiredness. And an unbelievable amount of confusion. What the hell was I? What had happened to me that resulted in the lack of memory? I needed now more than ever to figure out what was wrong with me


	3. Chapter 3

When the thrill of the kill left my body, I was left with an aching tiredness. And an unbelievable amount of confusion. What the hell was I? What had happened to me that resulted in the lack of memory? I needed now more than ever to figure out what was wrong with me and what I was, because in that answer, I would find out what I had to do to live.

Emotions raced through me every step I took like flowing water. First I was confused as to why my feet would get cut up every step, but then heal half a second later. I didn't know why my teeth grew like that, but one word registered in my head whenever I thought about them. Fangs.

And then I was scared. I felt like I had the right to be scared, after everything that has happened to me. I could hear everything. From the clicking of a cricket twenty yards away to the heart beat of every animal. Most people would be scared hearing the sound of a twig snapping in the wind. Imagine how I felt.

But most of all, and strongest of all, was anger. Something in my gut told me that this was a familiar emotion for me. It clawed its greedy fingers inside my mind, forcing away all of my pain and fear and confusion, leaving only anger. Why was I alone right now? Who would leave me in the middle of a forest, in a hole in the ground? What jackass left me alone?

I didn't get this way alone. That just didn't happen. I didn't end up where I ended up by myself. There was someone else in my life, but what really pissed me off was that I couldn't remember who they were. Damn it, I deserved to be angry.

Without knowing it, I had walked back to the ditch where I had woken up in. Slowly, I walked over to it, the grass cool against my feet. It sent goose bumps up my arms and down my back. I smiled, my fangs springing to life. I didn't pause, only faintly wondered why the world around me felt so wonderful. I stood close to the edge of the ditch, staring down into it.

I could faintly see the outline of my body in the dirt where I had laid for however long. I curled my toes over the edge of the hole, feeling the air twirl between them.

I groaned and sat down, dangling my legs inside the ditch. I sighed, only to realize that it was unnecessary. Every movement I was doing at the moment (slumping my shoulder, swinging my legs, itching my arm) stopped, and I sat paralyzed with my mouth open slightly.

"Shit." I squeaked.

I wasn't breathing. There was no need for the oxygen I tried to take. I had been walking around for hours, not breathing, and I had never noticed. And yet I felt no different. I don't remember breathing from whatever life I had before. I don't recall the feeling as air tickled down your throat and passed into your lungs, but I recalled the importance of the matter. In half a second, with a blur of motion, I was on my feet backing away from something, anything. I needed to get away, to get out of this nightmare.

"I'm not breathing." I muttered.

My voice sounded like tiny wind chimes, singing in the wind. The memory was faint. I remembered the sound, but not the beauty. It was odd, frightening, to realize I did have a life before this one, and I couldn't remember any of it. I was only able to make the connections. Something warm filled my eye site and spilled over, dripping down my cheek.

"I'm not breathing." I said again. "I'm not fucking breathing!" I shouted into the air. I wiped the tears off of my face, only to realize it was blood, not tears. I screamed again, then cried some more. "Now I'm crying blood." I wined, stamping the ground like a two year old."This isn't fair!" I screamed at nothing.

I wanted to hit something, hard. I wanted to let loose all of these conflicting emotions that over powered my mind like I was on steroids.

And then I felt it through the air, like electricity. It was moving towards me, alerted, scared, nervous, panicked. I twisted my body every which way, looking into the dark woods, trying to find the source of this emotion. I felt the presence like I could see it, moving and twisting and turning, dodging trees and roots, moving at incredible speeds. Yet I felt it, not saw it. It was incredible.

It was zinging around in my head, pressure that continued to build and build until with a mental 'pop' it vanished, to be replaced with my normal senses. I smelled him. Dirty, smelling like dirt and trees. I inhaled deeply, moaning as I realized the scent was mixed with something living.

Nothing was better than having a real life form carrying that scent, hearing the intensly thick flow of blood under the skin, knowing they had just been a part of nature, been surrounded by it like I love so much. I heard his breath catch in his throat, although I got the feeling the breath was unnecessary, more of a sound of shock.

I knew he was behind me. I could feel his presence like a vibration through the air, hitting me in my bare back. I turned around slowly, not sure what I was expecting, but certainly it wasn't this delectable creature that stood in front of me.

Tall, really, really tall. That was the first thing I registered. I was only to his chest, and I had to look up, and up, and up. His skin was pale, much paler than mine. I wanted to touch it and feel the texture. His jaw was loose at the moment, his perfect, rounded lips slightly open. His eyes, piercing blue and sparkling. And his hair, blonde like mine, yet wild and out of place, covered in dirt and grime.

My mouth parted slightly. I didn't recognize the new need that rose in me, but found it easy to ignore at the moment. I felt like kissing him… weird. But his mouth looked so inviting and soon the need grew stronger, and morphed into other thoughts.

"Sookie?" he asked tenderly, his voice unsure and relieved. His hand reached up to touch my face, and I felt a shock course through my body.

"Gah!" I cried out, stepping away from him. He was too close, only a few inches away. I made sure we were a foot apart, two feet.

"Who are you?" I growled, my fangs sliding to their full length as a protective instinct that I didn't recognize took over. I backed up, watched his face morph into confusion. Wasn't this what I wanted though? Didn't I want to find someone who knew who I was? What had gotten into me?

I guess when I was faced with the opportunity to find out whom and what I was, I became a coward backing away like I was doing now.

"Sookie," he said, his voice deep and rumbling in his chest, trying to calm me down. Before I knew it, I had backed up to the hole, my heels unable to grab hold of ground. With the reaction time I have with my speed and agility, it was surprising that I wasn't able to regain my balance as my arms flailed around me, falling backwards into the hole.

A scream caught in my throat, my eyes squeezed shut for the impact with the ground six feet below. It never came. Instead I was greeted with cold, stiff arms circling around my waist and neck, catching me mid fall.

I opened one eye, left the other one shut, as I looked around me. The gorgeous man standing in front of me moment before was yet again standing uncomfortably close. I let out a sigh. He smiled down at me, a cocky, arrogant smile that made my knees weaker than they were.

"You—" I said, braking off as he eased me upright. "You know my name?" I finished, asking it as a question because I wasn't even sure if that was my name.

"Sookie, it's me, Eric." He said. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. So did mine.

"I don't—" I shook my head, taking in a deep breath to clear my mind, and to taste his scent, strong in the air. "I don't know who you are." I said finally. It was the truth. I scanned my mind for any memory of him, but the only memories I could recall were me roaming aimlessly in the forest after I woke up in a ditch.

I watched his face as it became stone. I watched his eyes, watched him thinking through a billion different possibilities, all of which probably never crossed my mind. I watched as a shield was placed over his face, blocking any emotions that might show.

I could feel them though, coursing through my veins like they were my very own. I felt powerful, courageous, amazing, as I felt the emotions. It was like living an entirely new life, having a new personality, new emotions, new everything.

I was still leaning against him, and his arms were still tight around me. My neck was bent backwards to stare up his throat and into his eyes. He wasn't looking at me, but into some distant place, still thinking. I uncurled myself from him, stepping back.

I watched him try to refrain, but fail, as his eyes roamed over my body. I looked down at myself, confused as to why he had that cocky smile again. I stepped forward so that he looked up into my face. I could feel my eyes stinging once again. Finally the words I desperately needed to be rid of found their way up my throat and onto my tongue.

"What am I?" I whispered. The night air was absolutely silent, no heart beats, not wind, nothing. It felt like my tiny whisper, so low I thought he didn't hear, was echoing everywhere, bouncing back at me again and again.

He held his face tight and in control. This guy felt like the kind of person that would piss you off in seconds, but at the moment I had more concerning matters. He dropped his eyes for a second, noticeably pausing to look at my chest.

"Sookie." He sighed, his hot breath washing over me.

He looked up again, straight in the eyes. I felt exposed, which shouldn't be a new feeling since I was completely naked in front of him. But I didn't feel ashamed tha ti was naked. I wondered slightly why he wore clothing on his body at all. It seemed so pointless and uncomfortable.

But it felt like he not only saw my physical appearance, but everything else inside of me as well. Like he was pulling me apart, layer by layer, just by looking at me with those blue eyes of his.

He leaned in close, so his cheek was lightly sliding over mine, and his lips brushed my ear lobe.

"You are a vampire." He whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

"You are a vampire." He whispered.

My blood turned cold, and a hiss rose up from my mouth as I pushed myself away from this man. A vampire? I was a vampire? This could not be. I remembered suddenly remembered emotions about whatever life I had before now, and unfortunately it didn't calm my anger.

I had wanted more than anything to stay human. I remembered the love I held for a vampire, though his name never came to my mind. I remembered caring for it like I'd had no other man, but never had I wanted to become a vampire. Yet here I was.

"Who are you?" I hissed at him, backing away, making sure that I wouldn't fall into another ditch.

"Sookie, enough!" he growled, anger rising in him that I did not understand. And then suddenly words flowed through my head like whispers in the wind, faint, but understandable.

_Why does she do this? Her anger is understandable, but refusing to embrace what she is, is childish._

I gaped at him, recognizing his voice, but only with a thicker accent in my head. My mouth parted slightly, looking at him in awe. My anger vanished like smoke. I stepped forward once again, cupping my hand against his cheek and closing my eyes.

_What is she doing? Her emotions must be off the hook. One moment she's denying she knows me from anger, the next she's caressing my cheek. Odd._

I smiled. His accent was fluent, nothing that I recognized, but it was calming. The words set me off edge. I knew he was talking about me, because who else could he know that didn't know who he was one second and then cup his cheek the next?

"I'm not caressing your cheek, I'm just touching it." I defended myself. He seemed like the type that would instantly assume every woman wanted to touch him. Even though I sort of did want to touch him again… His skin was cold and made my finger tips tickle.

He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again, his face closing down in thought once again. He was annoying me, constantly shutting down like that. I wanted to find out what he was thinking. Wait, I could figure out what he was thinking. I held back a smile as I let his mind flow into mine, something that was easy since I was trying for it this time.

"_Sookie…" _ it was only a whisper, a trail of thought that ended with a blank mind as he shut that off from me as well. Somehow, he knew I could 'hear' him. Now I had no way of finding out whom this stranger was.

"Sookie, we need to go." He said finally, after staring at me oddly for a few seconds, but to me it seemed like forever.

"I'm not going to go anywhere with you." I spat. Where did this venomous voice come from? My emotions were rocketing around in my mind, twisting and changing every second into something new. Was this to do with being a vampire?

"Sookie, stop this right now!" he demanded, his voice hard and cold as he looked at me with an air of control.

"Stop what, _Eric" _I said his name with disgust, wondering why I wanted to make him mad so bad.

"Sookie, as your maker I command you to follow me." He said slowly, a slight growl shadowing his voice. My eyes widened. I felt a little tug in my stomach, like I wanted to follow him, and I wanted to trust him. But I pulled away from it.

"What gives you the right to talk to me like that?" I asked him. He thought he had control over me, and everything that I did. He thought that because he told me he was my maker, he could _command _me to do anything he wanted. I laughed mentally. I'd like to see him try.

Yet again, his eyes widened.

"Sookie, do you feel… my… presence?" he asked her softly, trying to find the right words to say.

"Well, yah, you're standing right in front of me." I told him, confused. He made no sense at all whatsoever.

"No, Sookie, I mean, do you feel any influence or maybe other emotions, other than your own, inside you?" he asked. His eyes were staring at me intently, maybe a little too fiercely for my comfort.

"Um, maybe?" I said cautiously, not sure if I should trust this man.

"Sookie, I need you to trust me." He said. I felt an urge to completely trust him and let him tell me about everything. I wanted to believe in him. Yet a stubborn part of me held my ground. He took a few steps towards me and I flinched in shock when he gripped both of my shoulders sternly.

"Trust me." He breathed, his warm breath washing over me, and calming me. That's when I was rushed back to a memory like I was living in it.

_The fellowship was holding Godric, we were trying to get away, but people were blocking the doors. They had stakes, and Eric insisted on going, but I tried to hold him back. I was worried about him. He walked forward, lowered his head so his cheek brushed mine, and whispered in my ear, "Trust me."_

I looked up at Eric, and stared him in the eyes, a slight form of recognition crossing over my face.

"Eric?" I asked. He nodded his head slowly.

"What's the Fellowship of the Sun?" I asked, because even though I had the memory, I didn't know what any of it meant. I only remembered Eric. Eric opened his mouth slightly, taking a light gasp of air as he was about to say something, then stopped himself.

"You really don't remember anything?" he asked her in a whisper. I shook my head. Finally he was catching on. I could feel his emotions twisting a turning.

"When you woke up, you shouldn't have moved. You could have been killed." He told her quietly. And then I felt him suddenly getting angry, like his emotions were just as out of whack as mine had been.

"I should never have left you, even if it had only been for ten minutes." He scolded himself. Then he looked at me, his anger suddenly pouring out, attacking me since it had nowhere else to go.

"Where the hell have you been?" He yelled at her suddenly. She took a step back, making his hands falling to his sides.

"Where the hell have you been?" I retorted. "I've been roaming the jungle, basically throwing up after attacking a deer, wondering what the hell I had to do to live!" I yelled at him. His eyes narrowed.

"I woke up and you were still asleep. I was the one that put you there, and I was with you while you slept, but I had to take care of something." He said evenly, trying not to lose his patience again.

"What exactly did you have to go take care of, resulting in the abandonment of a new born vampire?" I asked him, my hands resting on my hips.

"You are really distracting me, can you please put this on." He said, taking of his black leather jacket and handing it to me, drinking in my image. I gently took it, slipping my arms into it and letting it rest on my shoulder.

"Warm." I said, surprised that it was warm considering he had a cold body temperature. "Now tell me what you were doing?" I demanded.

"I was trying to kill your other possible..." he stopped talking, his mouth open, trying to say it.

"What?" I asked, trying to coax it out of him.

"Your other possible maker." He said, dropping his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at me. I was frozen, my eyes narrowed in confusion and shock.

"Um…" was all I could manage to say.

"Sookie, you said you drank animal blood?" he asked, looking up at me. I nodded and he grabbed my arm, dragging me off.

"What are you doing?" I squeaked, slapping his arm to get him away from me.

"You need blood, Sookie. I can feel you dying. Animal blood only weakens you, and you were incredibly weak when you woke to start with." He explained. It felt good to be told what was happening with me.

"How come you have clothes on and I don't?" I asked him. I was walking evenly with him now, so he let go of my arm and it dropped to my side. He kept his eyes straight ahead and didn't answer her.

"Eric, do I have to ask you every question twice?"

"It's traditional for when a vampire is created, to sleep in the ground, completely naked, as an act of pureness and rebirth. When I woke, I dug myself out, and smelt him nearby. I was following his trail, the other possible maker, and when I lost it, I took a quick stop at my house to get close." He said quietly holding aside a branch so I could pass. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I guess I could wait while you got some clothes, right?" I asked, walking forwards, knowing he would catch up so he could lead me wherever he was taking me. He sighed. My foot was sliced open by a rock and I hissed in pain, hopping on one foot until it heeled. I could smell my blood though, dripping on the ground.

"Eric, I'm really hungry." I growled. I could feel my fangs pop out, and I closed my mouth to hide them. I needed to drink, bad.

I shrieked when he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. I was too shocked to do anything, but once I gained back my senses, I started beating him on the back as hard I could, which wasn't that good since I was so weak. I felt tired just after a few hits, and let my arms fall down. I groaned in pain.

He flew through the air, leaving everything in a blur. I could feel my fangs still extended, and I fought the urge to roll my tongue over its glossy surface, because I always cut myself when I did that.

He suddenly stopped, making me jerk back to reality. He placed me gently to my feet, my hair sticking every which way. There was another whoosh of air, and I was left alone for a second, before he joined me once more.

"Put these on." He instructed, handing me a shirt and pants.

"Um.." I said, concerned by the fact that the pants were ten times to big for me.

"Just put them on, Sookie. We will stop by your house once you've fed." Eric snapped, turning around to give me privacy. That had to be the nicest thing he's done all night, just giving me a little privacy. Wow, what does that say about his character?

I slipped into the jeans, then took the jacket off to get the shirt on.

"Um, Eric?" I said, holding the shirt out, not sure how to put it on. He turned around and laughed aloud, at me. I couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. But he grabbed the shirt, turned it around and sideways, then slipped it over my head. I felt so childish, having to have him dress me. 

"Ugh, it's so uncomfortable." I said, wriggling around in the clothes. But for some reason I felt more protected in them, less revealed to the world. "Where did you get these?" I asked. He nodded towards the house behind us. I suddenly felt very dumb for not noticing the two story house towering behind me. "Oh." I muttered.

"Don't you have any blood?" I asked, my eyes lighting up. I sounded like a monster, after I replayed my words in my head, but I couldn't help the need that rose in me.

"I have a supplement that can do for now until we get normal clothes." He said, smiling as he looked me up and down. I looked at myself, seeing that all of the clothes were insanely baggy.

"I feel gangsta." I said, smiling myself. He laughed aloud and walked into the house. I waited outside, not sure if I should follow him. He might find it an invasion of his privacy of just plain rude. She didn't know him well enough to decide. Well, didn't know him in this life, but she seemed to be friends with him in the old life.

He joined her a second later, handing her a bottle.

"Sorry if you don't like it. AB negative is the only one I have." He said, shrugging. The cap was already off, and I took it in my hands. I smelled it first. It was metallic and thick. I loved it. I moved it to my lips, hoping it would taste better than the animal.

Once the blood touched my tongue, rolling over it in tiny waves, there was no going back. The taste filled my mind, consuming every thought I had. All I had was the blood. I assumed the feeling of drinking blood wasn't always this strong, but because I needed it so bad, the experience was magnified.

I moaned as it rolled down my throat, stopping the burning that was killing me for a moment. I could literally feel myself getting stronger. I felt like it wasn't a hassle to stay standing anymore. I felt strength go to my muscles, giving me power.

When I felt no more blood coming from the tiny bottle, I lowered it from my mouth, a dribble of blood falling down my mouth. I wiped it away with the back of my hand, watching the scarlet liquid drip over my pale skin.

"Mm." I mumbled, looking up at Eric. He was staring at me with a peculiar expression on his face, one I couldn't place. Maybe longing? I tried to probe his thoughts, but I assumed he could feel me inside his head, so he blocked me. I didn't understand how he did it, but it was effective, and kept me without answers. I opened my mouth to say something, then felt a chill travel down my spine.

I shivered, dropping the bottle on the ground. I faintly heard it shatter as I felt another presence, moving closer. But there was no fear or panic in its mind. There was only bloodshed and need. He was looking for something, I could feel the longing in his mind, reaching out for something… for me.

I hadn't realized my eyes had closed until I felt Eric's hand on my shoulder. They snapped open, and I looked around his tiny back yard at the trees, like I had done when he arrived.

"Sookie, what wrong?" he asked, concerned. He looked where I was looking, but when he saw nothing, he turned to stare at my face again.

"Someone's coming." I muttered, another shiver cutting off my words.

"Sookie, how could you know someone's coming when even I don't hear anyth—" he cut off, looking at my face, taking in the shivers that ran through me. "You can feel him?" he asked me. I looked up into his eyes, my own wide and scared. That was all the answer he needed.

I heard the snapping of twigs as he got closer. Eric growled, crouching in front of me in a defensive stance. His fangs grew to their full length, glistening jewels in the night. I was mesmerized for a moment, before _he_ stepped into the clearing. Black hair and black eyes, whit fangs and white skin.

He was looking at me as he strolled into the clearing.

"Hello, my child." He growled.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hello, my child." He purred, entering the clearing. I did not recognize him, but I felt cold chills running up and down my spine, filtering through the back of my mind. He was staring at me, his eyes black. It made me feel like I had no secrets, nothing was hidden.

Eric snarled in front of me, and my eyes were ripped from the man's vision. I shook my head, my eyes wide. It was like I was in a trance. And it wasn't exactly joyful, either.

"Ah, Eric. I was warned about you." He said, smiling at Eric. Eric faltered for a second.

"Warned by whom?" he asked, never rising from his predatorial stance.

"By my employers, of course." He stated as if it was an obvious fact, leaving Eric momentarily confused. That was what I assumed he aimed for, because in a millisecond, he was right behind my ear. I could see his blur of color as he raced through the air, then disappeared behind my head.

"Boo." He whispered. I gasped, an action unnecessary since I didn't need the air. I heard Eric growl, and watched him as he stood up and whirled around in time to see the stranger circle his arm around my waist and fly me across the clearing where he had been standing moments before.

It happened in less than two seconds, not enough time for a human to comprehend, but seemed like hours for a vampire. I drank in everything, yet I didn't react. I was caught off guard, unable to defend myself. He pinned my arms to my side. The moment he stopped moving, I struggled, trying to break free of his iron grasp. Even though my strength was amazing to me, it seemed like his was ten times as much, and I was imprisoned in his grasp.

I heard a purely animal sound escape Eric's mouth, but the look in his eyes was worse. They seemed to have grown darker, only holding a tinge of blue instead of the icy, clear blue that they had regularly. They held nothing but anger and predation in his gaze as he stared at the man. I could feel my blood run cold, and the air freeze considerably.

"Oh, quiet down Mr. Northman. You are just being an overly protective nuisance." The stranger sighed. Eric, however, did nothing of the sorts. He did the opposite, his gaze growing fiercer. I watched him take a step closer, and in an instant, my neck was in the grasp of cold hands.

"Another step, Eric Northman, and I will rip her head from her body." He snarled, murder etched into the very depth of his voice. It felt like ice water was trickling down my back. It was a harsh transition for him to go from a casual tone full of sarcasm and mock friendliness to this deadly voice.

Eric froze in step, torn from the need kill the man behind me, and keeping me alive. When Eric's back straightened, he slowly dropped his arm to hold my waist in another effort to keep me still. I, myself felt it was a little bit more than to keep me captive. I felt his mouth brush against my neck, and I curled my fingers into a fist.

"These clothes really do not suit you." He breathed. I own growl was louder than Eric's, who in turn gave me an odd look for half a second before returning to his menacing gaze. I felt the stranger look up at Eric and I could almost imagine him smiling, his fangs extended to their full length.

"What do you want with her?" Eric snarled. Even when he looked hideously deadly, his fangs still mesmerized me, and I found myself staring at them thoughtfully even in the grasp of a man who threatened to kill me.

"I only wish to take her to my destination, a location that you will not learn of." He stated as if it was the simplest thing. Maybe he didn't realize Eric was ready to kill him the second his attention slipped.

"I will not allow that." Eric stated, his voice low in his attempt o not lash out and kill me in the process.

"Oh, yes you will. I do not care if I bring her lifeless body back, but I assumed you would. And I thought you might have cared if you died as well." The stranger said. I felt him shrug and then heard him sigh. Eric growled quietly from across the lawn.

"Enough of this. Follow us, and you and the girl both die." He said in such a low voice I wondered if Eric could hear. His arm slackened around my waist so he could turn us around and drag me into the woods. I'd been waiting for the moment, basically screaming from the wait, but I tackled it the moment it arrived.

I slipped my arm out of his embrace in a whisper of speed. I knew there was a small time frame I could accomplish this, since he was moving with incredible speed himself to ensure that I didn't do exactly what I was doing at the moment. His fingers grasped air as he barely missed my hand, and I brought my elbow back with a snap, making satisfactory contact with his jaw.

I heard a sickening snap and he cried out in pain as his grip slackened even further. I crushed his foot, literally, with the heel of my own foot. Finally his arms dropped and I was able to step out of his grip long enough for me to knee him with as much force in his manhood to make sure he would be doubled over in pain for at least half a minute before he healed, long enough for me and Eric to get away.

I froze for a moment, realizing the extent of my strength. I didn't know I could over throw this vampire like I had done, and I was sickened with the noise the bones broke when they shattered. But for the second or third time, an arm wrapped around my waist and dragged me into the night. Again I felt the wind whip me in the face and body, and it seemed to give me a gasp of fresh air (ha-ha, ironic since I can't breathe anymore) and I woke from my trance.

"I can run myself." I groaned, his grip digging into my stomach.

"Then do it." He hissed, setting me to the ground in mid step. I was surprised so I stumbled, but soon I was easily keeping pace with him. "This is fun." I laughed, as the wind blew the hair away from my face and left everything behind me.

It took me a moment to realize Eric had stopped in his tracks, and I had to back track a few hundred feet to find him staring at our trail. I looked, but could hear nothing. But I did _feel_ something. I felt something getting closer, running, anger blinding his vision, and in turn blinding me. I took a step back in shock.

"Sookie, run." Eric whispered, his eyes never leaving the trees. I didn't move. How could I leave him to that creature? I couldn't lose my only source of knowledge to what my life was like before, and who I am now. I couldn't let him be taken away from me.

"Sookie," he growled ,becoming impatient.

"Eric, please, I can't live without answers, without any knowledge of who I am." I whispered. His growl stopped, and he turned to look at me, his eyes softening as he pick up on my worries.

"I find it amusing that you are concerned with me, my sweet Sookie. Maybe you really don't remember anything. But if you stay here with me, you are raising the possibility that I will die. If I need to worry about your safety along with my own while ensuring this beasts death, then one of us will most likely die anyways." He whispered. I felt my lip tremble as I realized he was right, and that every second he spoke, _he_ got closer, his anger rising as he knew we were closer to him.

"Eric, he's so angry and determined." I pleaded. "I could help you." I whispered.

"Sookie, no. Go now." He growled, his gaze hardening once more. And for some reason that hurt like hell, I ripped myself away from his presence and darted into the night. I ran for five minutes, the tears falling from my face. They fell onto my new blue shirt, staining it. Eric would kill me, I though absently, hoping beyond hope that he would be alive to kill me.

I stopped and collapsed, my back slumping against a tree. My knees folded against my chest, and I hugged them even closer, rocking back and forth and wiping the tears away from my face. I shut myself off, because I had this strange feeling that I would feel it if the stranger was killed. And if I could feel him being killed, I would also know if he survived.

Time seemed to slow down. I couldn't stop thinking about Eric, being killed and on the floor of the forest, dead forever. I needed him more than anything. He may have been slightly obnoxious and oddly annoying with his forceful and powerful demeanor. But again, he was a lifeline to everything outside of my memory.

I needed him to survive, no matter how dramatic that might have sounded. I had no idea what he had given me to drink that gave me power for a little while, therefore I was now unable to find more. I don't remember where his house was, I don't know where I just ran to. I didn't know anything, and I was sure to die without Eric.

"Eric, please come back." I whispered into the air, fresh tears streaming down my face as I huddled myself in a tighter ball. It hurt so bad to leave him there, alone, without help. Not only would I die without him, but the guilt would eat me until I was raw. I had left him alone. The thought rang through my head again and again, and I had to fight the never ending urge to go after him. But like he said, I would only distract him and get us killed since I was so useless…

I heard the snap of a twig and my head snapped up. My concentration snapped, and the bond I shared with the vampire came rushing back to me, overpowering me. I didn't know what I expected, so my emotions were off the wall when I saw who it was.

"Hello, Sookie." He said, limping towards me, his fangs covered in fresh blood.

**Sorry for the cliff hanger but I'm really tired and I wanted to get it posted before I fell asleep. I'll try to get the next chapter up by tomorrow night. Sorry for any grammatical errors. I'll welcome any reviews, good or bad. I need the feedback to improve the chapters. Thanks **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: This chapter contains a lot of violence which is a giant turn from the other chapters I have written so far. If your not okay with it, then don't read it (: thanks**

"Hello, Sookie." He growled, limping towards me, his fangs covered in fresh blood. I shook my head, slowly standing. I tried to push myself farther into the shadows of the night, but his keen predatory gaze would see me through the dark anyways.

The stranger walked forward, licking the blood off of his lips as he came forward. His eyes held no amount of kindness, and I knew he held none at the moment, even if I dug for it. He just wanted blood, that was all that shone in his dilated eyes and glistening fangs. The thing that horrified me most was that the top right side of his head had been crushed, and as it healed it looked like it was inflating, bone crunching together to create a shivering sound. His right eye was drooping, his eye brow ripped off somehow. And he looked insane, crazy, fool of wanted murder. I turned to run, since I knew of course this man could get me in an instant. He had beaten Eric.

The realization hit me like a hammer, and I faltered mid step, almost tripping. It gave him enough time to grab me in a bone crushing grip. I let out a scream so full of bloody murder it sounded animalistic. It echoed throughout the night air, leaving me empty as it rang through my mind. I kicked and thrashed, since my arms were once more pinned behind my back, but it was useless.

Every second his wounds were healing. I saw faintly before the bite marks. Some pieces of his flesh had literally been ripped off. He had nail marks racked down his face, leaving red welts. Something had happened to his right leg, resulting in a pretty horrible limp that now seemed gone. I tried lifting my arms out of his grasp, but he only growled in response.

And when I finally landed a hit on his knee cap with my knee, he seemed to snap. A hideous snarl erupted from deep in his throat, and I heard him lean in, biting into my neck. I screamed out again as the flesh was torn from my neck. My blood instantly slid down my throat, staining Eric's shirt further. I could already feel it healing. It tickled a little, which was an odd sensation in a situation like this. But I heard him spit the chunk of me out and heard it land on the floor. I got the sudden erge to throw up, but lost my breath when he was dragged away from my body, bruising my ribs as we were separated.

I landed on the ground and lifted my hand to cup my neck. I could feel it closing, and wanted to close my eyes and focus on only that instead of the scene unfolding in front of me. Eric was covered in blood, literally. The wounds inflicted upon him were obviously above serious arteries. His shirt was dripping blood in spots. His eyes were wide and completely black with blood lust. His fangs were to their full length, covered in blood as well. And at the moment he had just pulled back from the stranger's neck with something hideous hanging out of his mouth. I looked away, gagging uselessly.

The stranger snarled, leaping to his feet instantly and going after Eric, who ducked his launch, but was caught on the back with his nails. You wouldn't think nails so short that only just reached over the skin could cause so much damage, but everything seems different when a vampire inflicts it. It dug half an inch into his back, causing Eric to scream in pain. The sound caused ripped through my mind, causing me to flinch in the spot I cowered, but not for much longer.

I leaped to my feet, needing to do something to prevent him further pain. Eric turned around in time to catch the stranger as he leapt at Eric, his fangs aiming for his jugular, his finger clawing. Eric, however, was at a better angle, and was able to sink his teeth into his shoulder. The stranger cried out, his head lifting towards the star as a growl erupted and Eric's blood sprinkled from his mouth. Vampire battles were gruesome and evil, but the amount of power involved astounded me. How nothing seemed to affect them as they tore into each other ruthlessly.

And worst of all, I found my own fangs extended, my own eyes dilated as I smelled the blood and recognized the animalistic battle. I couldn't help but join in. Something else took over in that second, something I had felt nibbling inside of me, and suddenly decided to come out at this moment. I felt so alive, so excited and powerful. I knew I could inflict pain, and I wanted to inflict pain. SO bad, I wanted someone to suffer, so I joined in.

With a battle cry I didn't know existed in me, I leaped into the middle of it. Eric was on the ground, trying to defend himself as his wrist reset itself. I vaulted myself at the stranger as he made another go at Eric, who would have been unable to fight back since he was recovering still from his previous attack. I surprised myself by surprising him. I slammed directly into his chest, both of us toppling over. We rolled over in the grass, our momentum carrying us. Unfortunately he regained his senses a whole lot sooner than I did. About half a second after he hit the ground, he was hissing and clawing at me face.

When I was first racked across the face, I felt searing pain, and was grateful as it seemed like a splash of water. I growled menacingly, this time not faltering from the unexpected sound. We came to a halt and I found myself pinned underneath him. He made as to punch me in the face, but I caught his fist, bringing my other hand forward to break his arm. I felt like I should be disgusted at this, but in his cry of pain, I became excited, and only longed for more battle. Adrenaline coursed through me and I was disappointed when he was pulled off of me by Eric. I leapt to my feet and waited to find the perfect time to plunge back into the fight.

My eyes keenly followed the blur of their figures. They smashed into trees; tearing them from the roots and having them topple to the ground with a crash. Earth was torn up, flying around in the air. The dirt sprinkled over me, and I took a deep breath in, my eyes widening with the feeling of it on my skin. I snarled, and leapt back in. Eric was handling it good, but I couldn't help it. They were face to face, throwing blurry punches and blocks that I was too young to understand how they pulled it off. I landed on the stranger back, my arms circling around his arms, pinning them to his side. My legs wrapped around his waist and he stumbled back, thrashing around to gain control. I held on for dear life, and let out another cry into the night, feelings I'd never felt before shooting through my veins.

Before I knew it, my fangs had sunk into his neck, and it took a long drag of his blood, pulling back to smile, his own blood dripping from my mouth and onto his pale skin. I watched it heal as he snarled. I dropped off of him in a fluid motion, watching him turn to face me, my arm snapping forward and my fist making direct contact with his face. I crushed his skull and he crumpled to the ground, holding his face in his hands and groaning. "How do you like it ass hole." I growled.

I looked up at Eric, snarling quietly. He had been watching me, his eyes burning with a fiery intensity that brought new feelings and longing scorching through me. His eyes were filled with the need for a fight, the pain from his wounds, and lust, mostly lust, as he had watched me fight like an animal. He growled, and launched his body at me. We fell to the ground, and his lips assaulted mine. It was painful, but I attacked him with just as much force. He was on top of me, and he tore his shirt off of his body. Then I flipped him over so I was straddling his waist, and bent down to kiss him, biting down on his lip hard so I drew blood. I took a long drag, and he growled, breaking away only to sink his fangs into my neck. I moaned loudly, closing my eyes and feeling the need rise in me, so strong it was almost painful. He tore away at my shirt, and I felt it begin to taear away when he pulled away. I opened my eyes, ready to attack him if he stopped now, only to find the stranger ripping Eric throat open. I twirled on the ground, bringing my legs with me so I wiped them both out. Eric fell forward, making the stranger fall on top.

I didn't think about the violent intimacy I just had with Eric. I would think about it later. Right now I refused to let it distract me. I tore him away from Eric, feeling the need for protection grow, but obviously he was suspecting anything I was about to throw at him, because his own fist came at my face. I tiled away enough so that he only clipped my shoulder, but I felt it pop out of place and howled in pain. Eric was standing now, blood oozing down his throat. I fell to the ground as I pulled it into place.

When I looked up, Eric was throwing as many punches as he could, hitting him wherever it was possible. Some were blocked by the stranger, but other he absorbed, crying out in pain each time, trying to retaliate. The stranger tore up dirt, letting it rain down on me for the second time that night. I inhaled it and felt my pupils dilate further. On some bizarre instinct, I snapped a branch off of a tree, surprised since the branch was as thick as my forearm. I broke it down, and ran towards the stranger as he landed a blow to Eric's side, causing him to become immobilized for half a second, enough for him to tear his head off, which he obviously planned to do. I rose behind him, the stake arched high into the air.

In that instant, he turned, and his eyes bored into mine. He didn't even look at the stake. He just stared deep into my eyes, and I felt the most horrible sense of fear boiling in me. Suddenly the stake weight more than anything I could handle. It seemed to burn my hands, but I couldn't drop it. _Do it! Kill him now!_ I thought over and over again, yet I stood frozen, my eyes growing wider and wider.

"Drop the stake." He hissed, his voice entering my thoughts and sending a volt through my body. I dropped the stake before I could stop myself, my fingers seeming to be numb. He smiled then, a mistake, because I saw Eric's blood coating his mouth.

"Wait for me." He demanded. I felt myself turning to go wait for him. He would do something so horrible to me, so fearful and painful, how could I not? Eric could handle himself. He seemed to be doing fine, minus a few dislocated bones and missing flesh. But I couldn't stay and wait because I would be caught in a hell so ferocious it would eat away at my own humanity. I had to do what he said.

But then I saw the blood again, glistening in the moonlight, and a snarl escaped my mouth, one of many that night, and attacked him. His eyes widened as I caught him off guard. Eric had regained his composure and had grabbed a stake of his own, getting ready to drive it through the stranger when I tackled him. Stupid me. But I couldn't help it. I needed him to die, though I knew it would be impossible for me to do it. It wasn't just him telling me to drop the stake. I knew I wouldn't have done it even if he hadn't turned. For some reason I was bound to him, and there was no way I could cease that bond myself. I felt like it would be so painful I would die with him. But I couldn't help feeling the need to kill him, and that was enough for me.

His legs scrunched up against my chest and he hurled me away from him. I flew back and hit a tree, feeling something break and I slid down to my butt, then to my side as I was unable to control my weight. I saw him take off into the night, taking to the shadows in such an unnatural way it made me shiver. I felt myself healing, finding it painful for the first time. I moaned in pain, and Eric was at my side in a second.

"Sookie," he whispered quietly, looking me in the eye. The need for blood was wearing off, as was the need for sex as well. I sighed and slumped to the ground, groaning. I felt more of the stranger's blood trickle out of my mouth and I sat up as I felt the rest of my spine re-align. I spit out the remainder of it, wrinkling my nose. I suddenly hated the taste. It revolted me for some reason now that the fight had sprinted away in fear.

I looked around at the wreckage of the scene. Trees and Erath were torn up. Blood was oozing on everything, and the smell hit me like a wall, it was so strong. I wrinkled my nose again. I looked down at my hands, which had caused some of the blood splattered everywhere. They were covered in blood obviously. But they were smooth, pale, like marble. And I was now only realizing just how strong they were. Then I looked at Eric's hands, so much larger than mine, yet with the same texture. They seemed so much stronger than my own hands, and I couldn't help a sigh escaping me.

I hadn't realized until now just how much of an animal I was. There was a large, painful part of me that was a ruthless animal. And it surprised me that I was only a little afraid of it. I seemed to have a little control over it at the moment, although it came out suddenly in the middle of the fight. Maybe I could learn things. Maybe I could understand everything that was confusing me. Maybe I could be good at what I was, and I knew that only Eric could help me understand. So I decided to stay as close to him as I possibly could.


	7. Chapter 7

"Eric." I sighed. He smiled, and I ignored the blood, not just in his mouth, but everywhere.

"What just happened?" I asked, standing up. My mind wouldn't rap around the events of the fight just yet. He gripped just under my elbow, helping me stand, and I took it gratefully. His hands were strong, but they gripped my arm lightly and soothingly.

"You tried to kill him." He said simply.

"Wow, thank you for shedding light on the situation." I said, my voice practically dripping with sarcasm. Eric smiled, something that would have taken my breath away if I could have breathed. My own eyebrows knit together in confusion as I spoke my next question.

"I was going to kill him. I was so ready to kill him, and it would have worked because he wasn't going to even fight back, he was focusing on you." I said, pausing to put what happened next into words so he could maybe help me understand. He smiled again leaning in to brush his lips against my neck.

"You make such a fantastic vampire, Sookie. I knew you always would." He sighed. I slapped his head away.

"Be serious for a second Eric. I was going to kill him, and I hesitated, because I didn't want to suddenly." I said, my voice becoming lower than a whisper. I was surprised he could hear me. His smile faded slowly as he drank in my words. He didn't say anything, something that caused my stomach to start to turn, but I went on anyways.

"Then he turned around, realizing I was there. He stared at me, and Eric, you should have seen the horrible things in his eyes." I shuddered, dropping my head against his chest. It seemed odd that moments before I was sinking my fangs into a stranger neck, wanting to kill him with all of my heart, and the next moment I was crying into the chest of a Viking.

"He told me to drop the stake, and my fingers kind of went dead, pardon the pun, and I dropped the stake." I pulled away and looked Eric in the eyes, who in turn raised his hands and wiped my bloody tears off of my cheek. It gave me the courage to continue.

"And then he told me to go wait for him. And I felt so much need to go do exactly that. I felt like I would die, so painfully, if I didn't. I felt like you would die, and anybody I else I might have loved before I lost my memory would die, in front of me. It was so horrible!" I fought back tears that threatened to pour over my eyelids.

"Sookie, please, sit down with me." He asked me gently, and I nodded. He slid down the trunk of the tree behind us, laying me in his lap, my back against his bare chest.

"Please, Eric, just tell me what is happening." I begged, lounging my head into the crook of his arm. His other hand started to thread through the tangle of my hair as he started to speak.

"Sookie, when I found you, that vampire we were just trying to kill had drained you of practically all of your blood." He said. I shivered, not remembering the memory at all, but shivering from the fear that I might remember it at any moment. His protective shield over his mind dropped for a moment as he went back into his memories, and I watched through his eyes the picture of my pale body wrapped in the arms of the sneering vampire. I saw the puncture wounds in my neck, and watched as he dropped me to the ground, sprinting into the night.

I gasped and sat up straight, my hand flying to my neck to make sure they weren't there.

"Sookie, please." Eric said calmly, and I slowly leaned back against him, grateful that he had pulled his shield back up once more.

"Again, when I found you, you were drained, and he was already feeding you his blood." When I looked up at him with a confused expression, he sighed. I guess I was making this story annoying with him by interrupting him once a new sentence was added.

"To make a vampire, you first need to drain the human, then feed it some of your blood." Eric explained, giving me the short version. I wasn't any less confused, but nodded, urging him on with his story.

"I assumed he had fed you too little blood so that you would not turn into a vampire, but I could no longer heal you with my own blood, only raise the chance of turning you, so I did, hoping my blood would over power his. But you only took about two drags before you passed out, dead in my arms." His voice was flat as he held in absolutely any emotions he might have been feeling.

"You didn't have enough of my blood to overpower his since you might have been feeding for about three minutes from him, while you took only to gulps from me. But I hoped that my blood, being so much older, would make a dent, and it seems like it has." Eric said, looking down at me. I turned so my head was again resting in his arm, and he went back to running his fingers through my blood coated hair.

"I laid you in the ground and we went through the process of turning you, I'll skip the details. Sookie, I'm so terribly sorry for not being there when you woke." Eric apologized, and I had no choice but to accept it, I mean, who could deny him? I smiled, glad he couldn't read my thought like I could read his. But obviously he could read my face because he smiled a crooked smile that made electricity shoot up and down my arms.

"I cannot explain to you why you can't remember anything, quite frankly it baffles me. But I can tell you, that for the first time that I have seen, you have two makers." Eric said, mumbling by the end as he was lost in his own thought.

"Why isn't that uncommon? Can't someone be shared blood by two vampires in their turning?" I asked, the assumption confusing me that I had two makers.

"When someone is lucky enough to have two vampire sharing blood with one human, there is always only one maker. One blood, rather it is in larger quantity or in the greater the age of the blood, one always bleeds the other one out, so to speak. One overpowers the other." Eric explained, still mumbling.

"So why would you say that I have two makers if it is impossible?" I asked, even more confused than when we started.

"Well, Sookie, I can feel you partially, like a fraction of what it felt like when I created Pam. But I don't have the complete dominance. I can't feel any power, any dominance, any overwhelming connection to you." He said. I couldn't help but feel the exact same things he was describing.

"Who's Pam?" I asked. He just sighed and ignored me.

"I tried to use the force a maker usually had over his child to make you follow me when you first rose, but it didn't even come close to working. And the part that worries me is that _he_," he spat the word with disgust, not knowing the strangers name, "has the stronger connection. He can force his mind into yours, making you do what he wants, like a maker can do at all times." Eric muttered, resting his chin on her head, but continued brushing her hair with his fingers. The slight tug of her hair felt good, and she closed her eyes in comfort, even though the news struck her.

"I believe that it is because your unique and extremely uncommon blood. Before you were a vampire, you weren't exactly human, and I think the process by which you were turned a vampire was a little different because, well, you're so different." He said, trying to explain. But I was still focusing on the bond I shared with him in the stranger.

"But Eric, don't in some strange way you both have an equal connection?" I asked him quietly.

"How so, Sookie." He asked me, curious, yet not sure of how I could possibly know much if I couldn't remember anything. I could hear it in his voice. I tried not to role my eyes as I continued.

"Well, he can make me do things, like make me drop the stake when I was about to kill him. He can almost make me walk away from the fight, and I would have if I didn't see your blood, and I somehow ripped myself away from his compelling eyes and attacked him. So really he doesn't have complete control." I said. I was about to continue when Eric of course cut in to point out a flaw of my half finished statement.

"But he still has more control over your actions." He told me lightly as if by dropping the news as kindly as possible I wouldn't get my feelings hurt, like I was five and was told my goldfish died.

"Yes, but I'm drawn to you." I said. "I feel, in no way shape or form, and attraction or draw to that man at all what so ever." I said, exaggerating to make my point. "Yet I was fighting in that clearing for you. I sat in the shadows, feeling like I would wither away if you died when you told me to run. For some reason, I can _feel_ the connection with you more than that other vampire ever will with me. I can hear your thoughts so clearly, yet you are able to block them out with no difficulties at all. I think you and that other vampire are equally bonded, but in different senses." I said, opening my eyes to see his reaction. His eyes were staring ahead of him at the ripped up ground of the forest.

"Hm. Maybe you are right, Sookie. But it might not prove to be useful in your protection. I believe we will know each other's emotions and location at all times though." He said, trailing off in thought once more.

"Eric?" I asked, drawing him back to reality so he would hear my question.

"Do you feel a… sort of bond with the Earth?" I asked, slightly worried by how intense it made me feel when it sprinkled down on me in the battle.

"Um, no, I can't say I do." He said. "Sookie, do you?" he asked me, cupping my cheek and turning me gently so I was facing him.

"It's the oddest thing Eric. It's like I feel so powerful and protected when I touch the ground. I want to curl my fingers in the dirt and touch every leaf on every tree. I feel like it would hurt if I were to ever leave it. And when you two were having your fight, I felt a surge of power when you kicked up the ground and I was surrounded by it. I don't ever recall the thought that stakes could kill vampires, yet there I was, about to stab him through the heart with one I just made. It's weird, yet I don't regret it. It's a very enjoyable feeling." I muttered. Eric was silent, his eyes searching my face for something.

"I think it might be the fairy blood, love." He said, stroking my face to calm me as the fact hit me.

"Fairy blood? Fairies? There such a thing? And I'm a fairy? Did I have wings and a wand or something?" I asked, my voice rising. I stood up, no longer weary from the fight or the final blow that crushed my spin. Eric laughed and stood up himself.

"No Sookie. They are powerful beings. In the beginning of time, there were fairies with different powers, set into different sides for Earth, water and air. I think you have very powerful fairy blood in you that connects you to the Earth, and the feelings are magnified now that you area vampire with immensely strong senses." Eric said, stepping closer, something familiar in his eyes. I pushed at his chest, making him take a step back. I knit my eyebrows together.

"Eric, give me second to comprehend the fact that I'm a friggen fairy before you jump me." I muttered as I walked ten feet away, looking at the ground. I got to my knees, letting my fingers slide into the dirt like it was water. I couldn't help the sigh that escaped, and a moan followed, a smile playing on my lips.

"Eric, feel through the bond. Feel what I'm feeling." I said. I needed him to understand the feelings, so he wouldn't think I'm crazy. Eric came to kneel in front of me, and I met his icy eyes that somehow seemed to set fire to my skin. Ice and flames, mixing to gather to create something incredible. He looked me in the eyes, and then closed them abruptly. I watched his face as it became so relaxed and still I thought he had truly died. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he smiled, something that I couldn't look away from, lifting one of my hands out of the dirt to expect it.

"It was only a flash, but… interesting. Sookie…" he trailed off when he looked up, and we locked eyes. For the second time tonight, I wanted to jump him. But this time it wasn't with the animalistic lust I had felt before. This time it was different, like the conscious part of my body was aware I wanted him. I laughed aloud, and watched as his face changed to confusion. I brought my hand to his face and trailed it from his cheek bone down his jaw line, then let it drop off of the end of his chin. I left a trail of dirt on his face, and traced it with my eyes. He caught my hand as it fell, and was leaning towards me.

His eyes were wide and set on mine, and mine only. He got closer, closer his lips inches from mine and I could feel the need wake in me. We got so close that I felt him sigh unnecessarily in my face, making my breath in his scent and close in, just as a hand clamped down on my shoulder, dragging me away with cruelty. My eyes widened in shock as I only just realized the presence of more vampires. How could I have been so stupid! I should have heard them coming, but I was too caught up in my own desires. I felt like hitting myself in the head, but one of the other vampires did that for me. When I felt like I could open my eyes again, I surveyed the scene.

There were seven vampire. Two were holding me down, while fiver were trying to subdue Eric who was snarling like a rabid beast on steroids who had just spent an hour smoking pot then got drunk. His eyes were wild, and he met mine for an instant, enough time for one of the vampires to bring him to his knees in pain. He howled out and soon my own fangs were bared. It seemed like we couldn't have more than five minutes without being attacked. Was that how every vampire felt?

I elbowed one of the vampires in the face as he made to take one of my arms. I felt his nose brake and I turned my attention to the other one who now had full extended fangs, and just had enough time to dodge a fist before I was tackled behind from the vampire. He bit into my neck harshly and I screamed, kicking him off. I tried to lunge at him again, and was brought back down to my butt by the other vampire, who held my there with difficulty. Finally he had to throw his entire weight on me, crushing me into the ground. I snarled aloud, looking up to see Eric losing a battle. But I saw a decapitated vampire a few feet away from me. I looked away, but smiled, feeling the animal claw even farther out of me. At least he got one of them.

I wasn't expecting the pain that came to me when the other vampire pulled out gloves and wrapped silver around me. No wonder only one of the vampires had been holding me down. It burnt at me flesh, melting it away. I snarled and brought my arms out from underneath me with difficulty, trying to slap away the vampire on top of me which was difficult since my arm couldn't stretch that far. But the vampire holding me took the liberty of making it bend farther, taking it and bending it sideways behind me until it cracked and I was screaming.

"Sookie!" I heard Eric roar, and looked up to see him actually gaining control over four vampires. One finally got the smart idea of holding the stake to his chest, and he stilled instantly, hissing at the vampire while another one did the same, only to his back. Now even if he somehow got the stake away from one vampire, the other would surly kill him before he turned around. He had no choice but to stand there and let them put the silver around him, never hissing in pain like I was now. I wished I had his courage, but I had never experienced this.

I struggled the whole way, trying to break loose. But whenever I tried to break the chains at my feet, it cut into my leg like a searing knife, and I would cry out in pain. I was sure that before I could even break it, it would cut through my feet. I shuddered, and they had my wrists wrapped around my back. They put some around my arms, too, binding them to my side for good measure. I was turned onto my back, and the vampire climbed off of me.

"Pretty little thing, aren't you?" he hissed, then I felt his boot collide with my side and I cried out with the pain of breaking ribs.

"Mm, that sounded good. Do that again." He asked her, placing his foot on her leg. She looked down, realized his intention, and then looked back at Eric who was looking at her with helpless eyes. His foot came down without warning, crushing the bone and causing her to scream loudly, pain coursing through her like she couldn't believe. She felt blood leak out of her eyes in tears and she screamed more when he moved his foot, grinding the bone.

"The sound of a woman's scream is music to my ears." He hissed, leaning in close to my face to watch he pain in my eyes.

"Enough." A cold voice sliced through the night light a knife, and his foot was instantly gone, leaving me the relief of healing. I tried to turn my head to the side and find the voice, but was unable to as it remained in the shadows. I faintly heard Eric growl from behind me, and I turned to see his eyes wide in surprise, then narrow in anger. I watched him watch some one walk into the clearing. His growling got deeper.

"Mm, Eric Northman. Pleasant surprise." He muttered kindly, like my leg wasn't just crushed and we weren't tied in silver that was eating away at my flesh. Call me overdramatic, but it seemed a little odd. Eric snarled this time, his fangs bared, one of the vampires punched him in the side and he grunted.

"Treat him with respect." I heard the vampire hiss.

"Your majesty." Eric said, nodding in greeting, his eyes full of blood lust. The hidden man sighed.

"Ah, and Mrs. Sookie Stackhouse." He said, and I heard him clap his hands together in delight. _What's going on?_ I mouthed to Eric who only glared in return. She heard the crunch of footsteps and then a face was in front of her, kneeling down so he was next to her. He was in an expensively tailored suit. It was pitch black and he wore a deep, blood red shirt underneath it. His handkerchief was white and tucked into his coat pocket, which made it stand out considerably. His hair was dark, and so were his eyes. That seemed to be the case with most vampires I've met lately.

"How are you this fine evening, Mrs. Stackhouse?" he asked, a giants mile on his face like we were old friends. I didn't even recognize him. I looked back at my chained and burning body to indicate how I was feeling. He sighed.

"Ah yes, that could make a night go sour, couldn't it?" he asked, roaming her body then meeting her eyes again with yet another smile.

"Who are you?" I asked, confused and in pain, needing answers as to why vampires wanted to hurt me so badly tonight. He looked confused.

"Sookie, you don't recognize me?" he asked, clearly hurt. His hands clasped over his un-beating heart and he gasped overdramatically. "I'm the king of Mississippi of course! Do you remember now?" he asked, leaning close to her face.

"Yes, Sookie, do you remember now?" asked a voice behind the king. I felt my body go stiff as the stranger walked into view. It didn't make sense as I watched the king rise to his feet, but suddenly the both of them were in one view together, and it all clicked.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sookie?" she asks, her eyes widening as she takes in my form. She wore tight jeans that hugged her impeccable curves. Her shirt was a shinny; dark green that flowed with her every movement, and sent glimmering sparks of light everywhere when the moon hit it just right. Her hair was a deep, deep brown, and set in an elegant bun in the back of her head, not a hair out of place. Her lips were bright red, and opened partially in shock.

"You didn't tell me she had been turned!" she shouted, whirling around to shout at the king.

"Calm down, Lorena, I only just found out." The king snapped, obviously displeased with her manor of addressing him.

"I apologize, your majesty, but may I ask if you know who did this?" she said, barely keeping her temper in check. I saw her fangs, glistening white against the shocking red lipstick.

"Quiet frankly, I have no idea. She smells most strongly of Eric Northman over there, but it isn't the smell of complete ownership. Odd," he said, looking at me with a distant look in his eyes. Lorena turned around to look at Eric, her back now facing me.

"Is she yours?" she hissed. I turned my own head to look at Eric who was looking at her with evident hate in his eyes. I had no idea what she had done to piss Eric off, but she had done a good job because looked nothing short of murderous at the moment. But he did not respond to Lorena, which I thought somewhat childish of the Viking.

"You would choose wisely to answer me, Eric." She said, taking a step closer only to have her arm gripped tightly by the king.

"Back down Lorena." The king growled, and instantly she stopped struggling against his iron grip and reluctantly turned away from Eric. "You will in no way harm Eric. He is our guest." The king said with a smile at Eric who grimaced in return. I couldn't help but notice that he said to not harm only Eric. Where did that leave me? Much to my distaste, Lorena's rage turned back to me.

"So, Sookie. We meet again. This vampire life seems to be suiting you well." She said, her eyes roaming over my body. I had to agree that I did look great, at least from what I could see from my point of view.

"I couldn't disagree more." I spat out instead, my eyes zeroing in on the chains wrapped around me. Her cold and shrill laughter fill the quiet clearing.

"I've always hated your attitude, Miss. Stackhouse." She said, the humor from her voice gone, an icy indent taking its place. "But maybe since you heal after every wound, I can have a lot more fun with you without worrying about blood loss…" she said, trailing off in her own thoughts, leaving me to stare at her wide eyed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I shouted at her. Like I said, I didn't do well with pain.

"Relax, Sookie. You've got plenty of time before she gets to have you. I'd say three days at the most. I need a little favor from you first anyways." He said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to sit still like a good little girl, do your favor, then be tortured for no good reason by Lorena?" I said, shocked. How did they think they were going to make me do this?

"For no good reason? Dear Sookie, don't you remember what you have stolen from me?" Lorena asked in a sweet voice. This woman had so many mood changes it was hard to keep pace with her.

"Actually—"I began to tell her that I remembered nothing, but I was cut off by a growl from Eric.

"Lorena, surly she is not to blame?" he said a hint of menace in his voice. Lorena turned her head to look at him, but he made eye contact with me quickly, and I understood, though I didn't understand, that I was supposed to keep my little memory loss problem a secret.

"Oh Eric, of course it is all of her fault. He would have come back to me eventually, had it not been for her interference." She hissed.

"But he has come back to you, Lorena, so why is there a need to punish her when you got what you wanted in the end?" Eric asked her, trying to keep his anger hidden, and failing miserably.

"Because he has changed, Eric. And it's all this little brats fault." She said, turning her gaze back on me.

"Are you talking about Bill?" I said, realizing I shouldn't have spoken a second too late. There was a snarl of rage and suddenly she was in front of me, clutching my throat.

"Do not ever let his name pass over your tongue again, little girl, or I will rip it out of your mouth." She hissed. Her hand tightened and I cried out in the sudden pain of her long nail impaling my flesh. Her eyes held un-caged rage, I felt like she was going to break my neck. But she pulled away instead, walking back to the king with a calmness radiating off of her body. My neck stung as the wounds healed, but I couldn't help it when my eyes scrunched in confusion.

_Don't say anything Sookie. _

Eric's voice rang through my head, clear as a bell. I looked over at him in shock, and saw his face stone, looking at me intently.

_Look in their minds. Listen to them, figure out if there is any chance to get out of here._

He told me. I would figure out later how he managed to push his thought into my mind, but at the moment I just wanted to comply with his wishes. It was surprisingly easy to open my mind to their thoughts, considering I have never done it with so many people before. Well, not that I could remember. The harder part was sorting through them and listening in on one specifically, and then I had to locate where the voice belonged.

_I don't understand why this young one is so important. I believe we should just kill them now, hide the evidence._ My senses zeroed in on the one behind me, holding me down to the ground with rough hands. His mental voice was deep and rough, and I had no intention of wanting to hear it in real life.

_This is risky and stupid. We should just leave them here to the sun and run. It's too risky…_ that one was fuzzier, a little more difficult to hear, and I was unable to place it in the faces, although I had a suspicion that it was one of the ones holding Eric. Maybe if I had contact with them, it became so much easier to read their thoughts.

_The stuck up bitch has the nerve to even speak Bill's name. He is mine and mine only. I am literal pain in knowing that her fowl body had even come in contact with his. And he had changed. How dare she take away the spark that made me want him so much? The bitch will die, and I will enjoy every second of her death._ I could easily guess where that one had come from. My eyes narrowed in on Lorena as she thought horrible, devilish things about me.

But quickly and easily, the voices were starting to get louder, louder, and more jumbled up and confusing. It had been so easy to just let the voices in, but I had no idea how to get them out. I tried to take a deep breath, but found it was useless since I didn't even need the air. Instead I closed my eyes and let the darkness surround me. I heard voices talking out loud, but all I focused on were the mental voices, swarming around me like angry bee's stinging me again and again.

They only stopped when I felt a sting in my mind, like a bee had literally stung me. My body tensed up and I put a wall of some sorts around me without knowing it. When I was sure that it would hold, and the voices wouldn't break the wall down, I opened my eyes again, to find that everyone was staring at me.

"Uh, I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked sheepishly, knowing I had missed something. Eric was staring at me with concern, Lorena with disgust, and the King with fascination. The whole mind reading thing wasn't going to work out too well at the moment. I had no idea of how to control it.

"Tell me Sookie, can you hear vampire thoughts?" he whispered, leaning in to hear my answer. He was so intrigued and interested, it confused me. I was like his little science project. I looked over at Eric who gave a slight shake of his head. "Ah, I saw that, young Sookie. I will take that as a yes, then. Very good, since I needed you to read all minds to help me. I guess it is also convenient that Lorena will kill you later." He said with a smile, and Lorena laughed once more, smiling again.

Dozens of horrible things were running through my head that I wanted to shout at his face, none of which made it to my mouth because a pained groan took their place as I instinctively pushed against the chains, only to have them dig deeper into my skin.

"What is it exactly that you want me to do?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Ah, I thought you'd never ask." The King said with a crazy laugh and a clap of his hands. He was crazy. "There is a traitor in my kingdom." He said simply, his eyes suddenly turning stone cold, something I had not seen from him tonight. There was absolute rage in them, nothing else, as the idea of someone going against him, under his own nose, came to his mind. It was actually sort of horrifying.

"Where do I come in?" I asked him, only to get him talking again. A silence had fallen over the clearing like a blanket, everyone deciding to let the king fester in his own anger for a while. But I only spoke when I thought he might kill someone.

"Oh, yes, thank you for reminding me." He said with a slight smile, his anger gone as quickly as it had come. "All I need is for you to read the minds of people and find out who it is." He said.

"Why can't you just monitor your people and figure it out that way?" I asked him, knowing instantly I had stepped over the line when I was kneed in the back, something definitely popping out of place. I screamed in pain as a voice hissed in my ear. "Show him respect."

"That's enough, Ron." The king said sharply, and the knee was removed so I could heal. I couldn't help the bloodied tears that escaped my eyes. "I have already done that, Sookie. Please do not think you are not the last resort." The king said coldly, looking at me with no emotion in his face or eyes.

"Whoever it is, is taking vampires, _my_ vampires, and sending them to the Fellowship of the Sun. They dare to kill my own vampires off for safety from them and money. Lots of money. They are most definitely vampire, because no human is smart enough to cover their tracks this good. I'm not saying I think humans are stupid, most are though, but a Vampire has unlimited resources and the money and skill and experience to pull this off. And only a vampire could over power and hand over another vampire." The king said. I nodded my head, thinking things over.

"And what if I refuse to do this task?" I asked him.

"Then we rip Eric Northman head off." He said with a shrug, looking at Eric over his shoulder. I felt rage pouring into me, but for some reason I felt a wave of calmness wash over me, and when it left me, the rage was left in its wake, only to have more calm drown it away again. I looked over at Eric, wondering how he was sending me emotions. But it helped me not yell out at the King and only endanger our lives more. But on the other hand, it was insanely confusing. I had no idea if I was angry, or calm, and which was my emotion, and which was Eric's. I was having the worst mood swings ever.

"Alright, I will do this, only as long as I have your word that Eric will be let go." I said, only to receive a hiss from Eric. I only cared about his safety at the moment, and if he was put in harms way, I had no idea what I would do. I needed to make sure that I was getting something out of this. And since they had decided my fate, I felt like I had to make sure they didn't decide Eric's the same way.

_Sookie…_ he growled in my mind, but I shut him out like I did the other voices.

"I give you my word that he will be let go once you have found the traitor. Eric, and only Eric, will be released. But if he comes back for you, then we will kill him." The King said with finality.

"Okay, I agree. I will do it." I said, my head dropping down so I wouldn't see anyone's expressions, especially Eric's. He was growling quietly in his corner, and it was difficult to shut him out.

"Alright, now that that was unnecessarily dealt with this matter, we should head back to our resting place. Wouldn't want us to all burn in the sun, now would we?" he said, his voice overly cheery and a bright grin on his face.

Before I could say anything, I was dragged to my feet, the chains on my ankles ripped off. I instantly tried to turn around and attack whoever was gripping my arms extremely tightly as they continued to leave the chains for my wrists on.

But suddenly the kind was inches away from my face, fangs bared. His hand snapped up to my throat, gripping it tightly which only caused pain, but not making it hard to breath since I didn't breath.

"These are my people, Mrs. Stackhouse. And while we are not in my area, I would like you to still respect my authority." He hissed, dipping his head in so his fangs were millimeters away from my face. I felt only a slight sliver of fear considering he could kill me right this second, but that instantly went away as anger replaced it. But I held my tongue and just nodded, my eyes burning. He smiled and released my throat, his fangs retracting.

"Aright then, let's get a move on." He said cheerily, moving into the shadows, everyone else following. Eric was brought to my side, and I couldn't help but looking up at him. Three vampires were holding him tightly, just in case he tried running for it. He was staring daggers at Lorena's back, and I had no doubt that he wanted to kill her as much as I did. I wanted to say something, but I knew anything I said would be heard by the other vampires. When he felt my eyes on him, he looked down at me and just stared at me grimly.

"Not even a smile?" I suggested, and was kneed in the back and told to stay quiet and look ahead. I did, but not without seeing the slight smirk on Eric's face.


	9. Chapter 9

They took us to a mansion that the king called one of his vacation houses. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows when I saw it. It was a glorious white mansion with the most luscious lawn I'd ever seen. He said he had bought it when he visited the queen a while back and had stayed near this place. I watcher Eric's back stiffen at the mention of the queen, and I made a mental note to ask him about it later. I had no idea what it meant to be a king or a queen.

They took us inside, and two buff looking vampires locked the door behind us, and stayed there. I had to say that they were pretty creepy looking body guards. I felt the exact moment I was torn away from Nature and anything living. It hurt, actually.

They led us down a hallway with white and black marble floors. The walls were white, and covered in pictures of landscapes, faces, houses, anything, but they were all exceptionally beautiful. I found myself staring at them as we passed, going deeper into the house.

"Wonderful, aren't they?" the king said, suddenly next to me. I snapped my head around to look at him, finding him staring at the pictures along with me.

"Why do you have so many paintings?" I asked, my eyes traveling back to them. The farther we walked, the older they got, and the more beautiful they became with their age. The more natural the colored dyes were and the more primal and not exquisitely detailed the paintings got, the more surreal and interesting they became to me.

"Ah, well, through my life as a vampire I had collected many paintings. It gives you something to set your mind on, which comes in handy when you are immortal. And they add a nice touch to a vampire's home." He said, a light laugh following the end of his sentence. Suddenly we stopped, and a vampire opened a door for us. We were pushed down stone steps and into a large, dome room at the bottom of the steps.

"This is our wine cellar, actually. This was here when we moved in, but I kept it because I like the smell." He said, inhaling deeply to prove his point. There were rows and rows of racks, and the walls were covered. Every spot that I could see was filled with the incredibly old wines. Every one of them seemed to be covered with a light shade of dust. He was right, the smells were intoxicating. But when we passed some, I got the distinct smell of aging blood, but I didn't have the guts to ask.

We were pushed through the room, and I wasn't given enough time to look at any of the ages of the bottles, although I desperately wanted to. We went through another door into a hallway less extravagant than the one above us. The walls were stone, and the floors were wood, nothing decorated the walls though. It was considerably colder here, and we were led left, and down another stair case. I took in my surroundings, locking them into my mind. There were doors scattered down the hallway, and I counted them as we walked, making sure I knew that the door to the whine cellar was the fifth door on the right side. It was even colder and darker when we were led down the next staircase.

There were no lamps of lights at all, but it didn't seem to affect me. I could see everything clearly, as if there were light and lamps everywhere. It was interesting. Down another hallway, and through the third door on the left. It was a large room, with cages lining the walls. The image clicked in my mind suddenly, like I had seen one before.

"You have a dungeon?" I asked, incredulous. The king laughed, delighted.

"I know, exceptional, isn't it? I would have loved to see these rooms in their prime." He sighed, obviously disappointed that he had missed out on seeing actual humans locked and starved in the cages.

"Of course we've made some adjustments." He said. A vampire put on a pair of gloves and took large silver key, then opened one of the cells. Eric was shoved in, the silver still wound around his wrists. He turned around instantly when he was released from the grip of the four vampires, only to get the cage door slammed in his face. I wasn't really sure what he was planning to do anyways, with about eight or nine vampires surrounding us.

I was shoved into a cell next to Eric, my silver still wound around my wrists as well.

"I would be careful in there. The cells are made of silver, a large amount of silver. The key is silver as well." The king warned. "I hope you both get a wonderful days rest." He said with a wide smile before walking out, all of the vampires following. Lorena left last, giving me an evil smirk that sent shivers through my body.

"Why are you doing this, Lorena?" I asked. She was insane, bent on causing me incredible amounts of pain for reasons I couldn't understand. I didn't remember Bill; I only remembered the pain and heart break he caused me. It was an everlasting ache in my chest. Her smile faded, but the obvious hate stayed burning in her eyes.

"Because I need someone to take it out on besides Bill." She said, and with one last nightmare endusing smile, she left, closing and locking the door behind her.

My face held no emotion as I stared at the door where she just left, and a bloody tear fell down my face. When I turned to look at Eric, he was standing behind the silver bars that separated our cells, staring at me with no emotion on his face as well.

"What did I do to her?" I asked Eric, who smiled sadly in response.

"You did nothing, Sookie. She just seeks revenge because Bill wanted you, instead of her, and that is something she doesn't want to deal with." He explained, but I still felt like some of it was my fault. You just don't feel like torturing someone until they die because you're ex boyfriend didn't choose you.

I walked away to go lean against the wall, suddenly extremely exhausted. I felt a pressure in my chest, like something heavy was pressing down on me. My eyelids felt a thousand pounds each and I struggled to keep them open.

"Why did you make him promise to let me go, Sookie? Now there is no way I will be able to get you away from Lorena without getting you and myself killed." He scolded me.

"There was no way you would have been able to if you were still held captive, too. I was just making sure you would live." I mumbled, sliding down onto my butt.

"Sookie, we will talk about this once night comes. You must sleep now." I heard Eric say, his voice holding definite assurance that our conversation wasn't over yet.

"Why am I so tired?" I mumbled, my eyes already drooping closed. My eyes felt heavy and I tried blinking it away.

"Because you are an extremely young vampire, Sookie. Dawn is coming right now, and you need more than ever to rest. Your body is acknowledging that fact."

I lay down on my side slowly so I wasn't crushing my hands.

"Sleep now, my Sookie." I heard him whisper as he went into a corner and lay down as well. I was asleep, dead to the world (pun intended) in an instant.

It had never crossed my mind about dreaming, but I guess I assumed I wouldn't be able to, since I was technically dead. But it actually seemed that dreaming was incredible, even though my dreams were nothing but horrible visions.

The first was of Bill. I recognized him instantly, although I don't remember ever seeing him. He was sitting in a plush chair, reading a book. I watched as a young, blonde woman walked into the room. She looked about my age. Bill put a bookmark into his book, and put it onto a table next to him before standing. The woman tilted her head to the side, a slight smile on her lips as Bill walked forward, his fangs extending with a pop. He bit the girl and she moaned in pleasure. When she was ripped away from him, her throat tore open, and suddenly she was screaming, clutching her throat as she choked on her own blood. Lorena stood there, her eyes ablaze with anger. "I have told you over and over again to stop taking humans that look like _her_." She hissed, stepping forward menacingly as the girl died on the floor. Bills eyes flashed with a moment of fear as Lorena advanced on him, but I didn't get a chance to see what followed, because the scene changed.

It changed to Eric, running towards me with hunger in his eyes as I felt like I was dying. He knelt beside me, his fingers running along my neck. When he pulled back, they were coated in my blood. "What are you doing." I whispered, since I couldn't speak any louder. "Saving you life." He answered, and then with a hiss, he bit into me, draining the rest of my life away.

I woke up with a gasp, trying to sit up but thrown off without the aid of my hands. Eric was sitting with crossed legs behind the bars, staring at me with a look of amusement on his face.

"You think this is funny?" I shouted, trying to sit up with no luck. So instead I twisted my body so that I was able to slide my chained hands underneath my feet so that they were in front of me. It hurt like hell as the silver sliced deeper into my skin. Eric just sat there, watching me with a slight smile. He had already accomplished what I was doing, and his chained wrists sat lazily in his lap.

"How long have you been awake?" I demanded, finally sitting up.

"A little under an hour." I raised my eyebrows at him before returning my gaze back to the chains.

"How come you could get up and I couldn't?" I asked, testing the durability of the silver and finding that it couldn't break with strength. It only burnt more.

"Because I'm extremely older than you and I don't need the full day to sleep." He explained, watching me hiss in pain. He actually chuckled.

"I'm glad my pain amuses you." I snapped. I looked back down at the chains, finding that they had tucked the end of the chain into the binding. I bent down, careful to grasp it only with my teeth, and pulled it out. It burnt worse than anything else when it rubbed against my gums, but I only grunted in pain, and continued to release it.

"Ha!" I shouted triumphantly, and heard Eric snicker from his area over there. I let the end of the chain dangle down, and bent my leg so that I was stepping on it, my pant leg covering my exposed foot so that the silver didn't burn my foot off.

"Sookie, what are you doing?' Eric asked me, looking at me curiously.

I ignored him and started to unwind the chains from my wrists. Eric caught on quickly, and with a quiet laugh, he followed suit. Soon I was pulling the silver from my skin, something that made me cry out a few times as the flesh was torn away from it as well.

"Nice work, Sookie. What did you hope to do once you got those off?" Eric asked me when the silver dropped to the floor.

"Well, nothing really, they were just annoying me." I said, and then out of nowhere I was hit with such a strong surge of fatigue that I had to take a few steps back to regain my sense of balance.

"Sookie? Sookie, are you alright?" I hear Eric ask, concern etched into his voice.

"Nothing, it's fine. I just got really dizzy." I said.

"You need to eat, now." He said, but I didn't know why he bothered to say it. Hunger was throbbing in my mind, my entire body. I couldn't even look at Eric for too long without wanting to bite him. I shuddered at the thought, wondering how I could even think of doing that.

"Eric, am I going to die?" I asked him, sitting down since my legs had started to shake.

"Well, technically you're already dead." He said, with a smile, giving me my answer. I was going to die soon. Again. I had already gone through this… why couldn't I go too long without the threat of dying for real?

"Sookie is there anyone outside the door?" he asked. It took me a moment to figure out that he wanted me to search for minds, but there was no one outside.

"No, but I hear people walking up and down the hallway at the top of the staircase." I muttered, massaging my temples since my head started to throb. "I didn't know vampires could get headaches." I sighed.

"How many vampires are at the top of the staircase?" Eric asked. I was silent for a moment as I searched through them. I couldn't find the strength to really concentrate on anything, but I found three different voices. I told Eric this.

"Don't even think about escaping." I warned him. He was looking at the floor besides my feet intently.

"What makes you think I would be thinking about escaping?" he asked innocently with a slight smile on his face that made me woozy. I tried to make myself think it was from the hunger.

"Because I can hear your thought's, Eric." I snapped. I wasn't in the mood for his games. In the next instant, his thoughts were blocked from mine.

"Damn it Eric! Why do you keep doing that?" I shouted at him. For some reason I was getting really annoyed. Annoyed at Eric, my situation, my existence. Everything was ticking me off. "If you try and escape, then they will kill you." I told him, staring at him intently. He looked back at me with as much force.

"Sookie, do not tell me what I can and cannot do. As you maker, you will respect me and any decision that I decide to make. You are mad, I know. But do not take it out on me as I have done nothing to you." Eric warned me, his voice hard.

"You've done nothing to me?" I shouted, riding to my feet in a second. Eric rose just as fast. "I would have been just fine if I was dead!" I shouted, taking a step towards him. My stomach did flips, but I ignored them. His fangs extended then, and he started growling.

"You would not have, Sookie." He told me in a low and controlled voice, although his entire body gave him away. His muscles were tense, his eyes on fire, his fangs bared.

"Go to hell Eric." I said, turning my back on him.

"Sookie, calm down. You're hunger is affecting your mood." Eric told me, his anger bubbling to the surface. I wheeled around, my own fangs coming forward without my intent. It surprised me, but I didn't back down any more.

"Why can't I just be angry? Why does it have to be because I'm hungry? Why can't it be because I'm about to die?" I yelled at him. I felt waves of calmness washing through me through our bond. "Back off Eric! I don't want to calm down!" I yelled at him, walking to the far wall and sliding down it until I was sitting. "I'm pissed that I'm here. I pissed that I'm dying. I'm pissed at you for not just letting me die. I'm pissed at who ever that other vampire is that turned me for not giving me the choice. I'm just pissed at everything, Eric. So why don't you just let me stay pissed, and leave me the hell alone?" I asked him, hugging my knees to my chest and resting my head on my legs.

I wasn't sure if Eric was going to say something, but I didn't get the chance to find out because the door opened. Light flooded the room, and five vampires filed into the room. They came to my cell and unlocked the door. I stood up and waited for the silver chains, not having the strength to fight back, but instead they just grabbed me and started to walk away. Two vampire grabbed my arms, the other three stood behind and in front of me. No one got Eric.

I gave him a quick, nervous look before I was dragged out of the room. He stood, unable to come to my aid, behind the bars, his eyes still livid, either by me or the other vampires, I didn't know. I was brought back up the two flights of stairs, through the wine cellar, and then into the main hallway. They took me through a door and into a small room with a fire burning in the fire place and a desk. The king sat in his plush, red chair behind the desk and when we walked through the door, he smiled widely and stood up, motioning to the chair opposite him. I was pushed roughly down into it, and then let go only to have them stand behind me.

"You can leave us. I'm sure she won't do anything while we have her boyfriend downstairs, would she?" he asked with a kind smile. We were left alone the next instant, and he sat back down once more. He pushed the papers he had been looking at aside, and laced his finger together in front of him.

"So, Sookie. The other night you said that you would help me. I do hope that you still feel the same way?" he asked me, his eyebrows rose in what I couldn't help but interpret as a threat.

"Yes. And last night you said you would let Eric go. I hope that agreement still stands as well." I told him, struggling to not let my voice shake. I was just so hungry. And even though I could see no pulse on his body, I could feel the blood beneath his skin, and my mouth watered in turn.

"Of course, Mrs. Stackhouse. I am a man of my word."

"If I may ask something, your majesty—"I said, trying not to spit the word out, but I was cut off by him.

"Please, call me Russell." He said, and I said nothing in surprise. This guy continued to surprise me. "Everyone in my kingdom calls me 'your majesty' or 'my king', and it's very flattering, but no one has called me Russell in a couple centuries." He said, sitting back in his chair and placing his fingers over his stomach. He was wearing a hideously ugly suit with a green jacket and a white shirt. I wanted to say something so bad, but I held my tongue since I assumed that would be crossing the line.

"Okay, Russell," I said, and he smiled kindly before motioning for me to go on. "I need something to eat." I told him simply, letting the hunger into my eyes since I couldn't hold it back anymore. I kept my mouth closed so he wouldn't see my fangs, but I think he saw it anyways because he smiled.

"Yes, of course. I had ordered you one earlier tonight. I have no idea what your taste is, so I just got O negative. I hope that is alright?" he said, getting up and walking to the door. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just nodded my head.

"You can bring her in." he said to one of the vampires standing out there, and in the next minute, and young brunette was walking in. She couldn't be more than nineteen. I understood then, and I felt no remorse for what I was about to do. All I could see was the pulse in her neck. I could hear her heart beating, the only sound in the room besides the crackling of the fire, but even that faded into the back ground as I watched her walk in. I stood up, letting my fangs show because I didn't even care anymore. The girl showed no fear though, and she walked right up to me, a coy smile on her lips. She tilted her neck to the side, and I could see the vein, so clear against her tanned skin.

I watched the blood flow through it, and my head bent down, closer to it. I could smell the blood, and I could see the other bite marks from other vampires. My hunger was so profound at the moment that it hurt.

"How will I stop?" I whispered, knowing he could hear me. He didn't answer me, and I looked up quickly to see him smiling, but I couldn't question it. My eyes traveled back to the vein, and I attacked. I didn't mean to make it painful, but I wasn't so preoccupied with making it not painful, either. The girl gasped at the initial contact, then started to moan in pleasure. I ignored her though as the taste filled my mouth.

I could literally feel her own strength pour into me. Unlike the bitter, stale taste of the bottled blood, this one had a stronger taste. It was sweet and salty in my mouth, washing over my tongue and down my throat like a delicate treasure. And the more I had, the more I wanted. It was addicting, and I felt my hands reach her head a turn it so that I was at a better angle. After thirty seconds, I had drunken a lot of her blood. I could feel the heart beat lessen slightly, but I only drank deeper, taking longer pulls and letting my tongue lapped any that slipped past my lips.

Soon the woman started to get frightened. Instead of moaning in pleasure, she was making sounds of discomfort, signaling me to stop, but I had no intention of stopping anytime soon. As the fear trickled into her blood stream, the taste became ten times more addicting and delicious, and I pulled on the blood quicker and longer. She started to struggle then, slapping my head away. I pulled away long enough to grab her hands and pin them to her side before I latched on again. I felt her blood coursing through me, literally. I felt the burning sensation it left in my own veins, and left a trail of energy. I couldn't stop drinking the blood, even though I knew I should. I couldn't find any good reason to stop draining her.

Only when she started to scream did I pull away. It shocked me to reality, the amount of fear and pain in that scream. And once I stopped drinking the blood, and saw her face, I stepped away in shock and watched her drop to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh my god." I whispered, covering my mouth with my hand. I wiped the blood off of my lips, but couldn't help swallowing the remainder that was in my mouth. Russell was leaning against the door, smiling at me calmly, his own fangs extended from the smell of blood.

"I almost killed her." I whispered, stepping farther back until I was standing flush against the wall. He turned to the guards who were outside. Their thoughts were clear, and I could tell they wanted this girl's blood.

"Take her to one of the rooms. Give her some True Blood, then glamour her and send her home." He ordered. I watched as a vampire came in and draped her over his shoulder, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. The king walked slowly back to his desk and sat back down. I continued to stay where I was.

"Relax, Sookie. She isn't dead yet. That's saying my own men don't drain her." He said with a shrug. He was thinking in a different language, so I couldn't make out his thoughts. He grabbed a piece of paper and looked at it. I slowly sat back down again.

"So, shall we begin?" he asked me, smiling kindly over the piece of paper. I nodded numbly.


	10. Chapter 10

No matter how much I regretted almost killing a teenager, I couldn't help but feel like I wanted more. The blood created a need in me, a need that I couldn't fight back. Every time I felt regret, it was instantly shadowed by the ever wanting need. I remembered the texture, the feel, the taste of the blood and I had to hold the bottom of my chair to keep me sitting there.

Russell had begun with a few comments, telling me the few clues there were as to why it was a vampire, and why they were from his own kingdom. He explained that two vampires have gone missing.

"They were fine men, Mrs. Stackhouse, and I don't say that about many vampires." He told me, leaning forward and staring at me seriously, something I hadn't seen from him yet. "They were loyal, completely willing to do any of my biddings. They would rather be staked then trade their loyalty to another kingdom, or until I was staked myself." He explained to me. I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, deciding the answer to whatever I was going to ask would be too confusing. Already it seemed a little dramatic, but he seemed completely serious at the moment.

"These men where each over half a millennia old. They had been trained un-relentlessly throughout their lifetime to do exactly what they do now, which is to protect me whenever I leave my own home. My security staff is broken up into many different parties, each one trained to specify with one form of security. The two vampires that have been taken worked specifically in ensuring the protection in the areas I will be traveling to in the near future. For instance, they would have known that I would be staying here for the week, and they would have spent the entire week finding out if there are any vampires in the area that need to be watched, or if the FOS is stationed anywhere near here. They make sure that they know every entrance to this house, and make sure that they are all covered before I even leave to go there." He told me, sighing unnecessarily and leaning back in his chair.

"This is all very interesting, and I have to say that I didn't know this until now, but why is it that I need to know this?" I asked. He groaned quietly, as if he was annoyed. I held my tongue, refraining from saying anything that would get my throat ripped out.

"Because I'm giving you information to search for in the minds of the vampires and humans on my staff." He explained to me slowly as if he was talking to a five year old. I balled my fists at my side, but continued to stay silent as he continued.

"They were taken two nights ago. I explained earlier that they are loyal, and since you are a new vampire, you must have no idea of what loyalty to your king or queen can mean." He told me, and my knuckles turned whiter than the skin already was as my finger nails dug into my palm. "So with that said, I know that they didn't leave of their own accord. And I would have figured it out anyways." He said, a little smug, actually.

"I know it was a vampire because no one human could have overpowered them at any point. They have been too well prepared, their senses stretched and used to the point where they are exceptionally accurate and better than most." He sighed, reminiscing about something. It annoyed me that he only thought in a different language, while the other voice of vampires throughout the mansion where buzzing in my head.

The girl I almost killed was dead. She had been drained, and the vampire that had done it was busy hiring someone to bury the body and erase any form of her existence. The vision of her body growing colder and colder, her skin becoming transparent and her eyes drooping shut, the screams finally ending, rang through his head, therefore running through my own head. I heard the vampires circling around the house. They only thought about the fact that the snap of the twig was only dear, and that that whistles was only the wind. They were only thinking about security, and it was boring as hell. But all of it added together made it difficult to focus on Russell. I could block them out to the point where it was only a buzz, but that wasn't much better.

"How do you know it wasn't a group of people from this FOS thingy?" I asked. I had no idea what the FOS was or what it even stood for, but I wasn't going to ask him what it was because he would then know I couldn't remember anything.

"Because if the vampires taken aren't sleeping, then they are wherever I am. And a group of people from the fellowship of the sun wouldn't be able to kidnap a vampire with so many other vampires around. I don't have enough human staff here for them to be able to group together to have enough people to overpower the vampires either." He finished, smiling at me kindly as if saying 'Got anything else?'

"So… do I just sit here and you bring in vampires so I can listen to them or something?" I asked, not really sure what I was supposed to do now.

"Well, no. I was going to have my best man, Ron, take you around the mansion on a tour as our guest, making sure you pass all of the vampires I have on staff. I want them to not expect you to be listening in on their thoughts. If you try to escape, and on some miracle you do succeed, then we will murder your boyfriend slowly, and excruciatingly painfully. Then we will hunt down your brother, Mrs. Stackhouse, and he will suffer the same consequence. Your friends, you relatives, if any are living after your brother is killed, they will all die. You have no way out of this, and still ensure that no one is hurt. So just do as we say, and everything will work out." He said with a creepy smile that made me shudder involuntarily, only making his smile wider.

"Ron." He called out, and the door opened. The vampire who tackled me to the ground and held me down in the clearing the other night walked in, standing still in the door frame with his hands clasped behind his back. His hair was jet black and slicked back and his eyes were a dark, dark brown. His lips were thin and his cheeks hollow, and he looked like he hadn't slept in, well, a few hundred years. "You know what you're doing." The king said, waving a hand dismissively to both me and Ron before looking over the papers scattered on his desk once again.

I stood up uncertainly and walked over to Ron who turned his back and walked out. I could only assume that I was supposed to follow him, so I did. The moment we were out of the room, and he had led me through a door on the opposite wall into a giant kitchen two times the size of the wine cellar, he turned around abruptly and I almost walked into his rock hard chest.

"Let us get one thing straight, miss. If you so much as attempt to escape, I will rip you apart, and then let you heal long enough so you can watch your boyfriend be staked, before you have the same fate." He said curtly. I wanted to punch this ass hole in the face. I had had enough with the threats of Eric being staked and killed, and GOD DAMN IT! He wasn't my boyfriend! I nodded instead.

"Why does a vampire's house need a massive kitchen?" I asked, letting out a sigh through my words. As far as I could tell, we only drank blood, so why was there such a massive, and beautiful kitchen in the middle of the house. He gave me one last long glare before leading me to the opposite side of the kitchen and through a swinging door and into a dining area. It was a small room with a table and dried flowers as the center piece. I could hear two vampires in the room beyond, and so could Ron because he began talking.

"This is the main dining area that the king would eat in if he ever found himself with guests." Ron explained. "I'll give you a moment to look around." He told me, and then went to stand in the shadows. It was kind of creepy actually. I began to move around since the vampires in the other room were expecting me to move.

_Wow, it's not enough that he moves all of the way out into a different territory, other than his own, and makes his entire staff work non -stop without any leeway at all whatsoever. Now he gives a tour to a fucking baby. _The first mental voice belonged to a man named… either Jared or Jacqui.

The more I dug through his thoughts, the more interesting it became. It was like he had two forms of thought, one he knew was there, and that he was basically talking to himself in his own mind. But the other was, well, different I guess. The things he thought brought up different trains of thoughts in his mind. Like when he thought baby, meaning me as a new vampire, he remembered his first child, and when he made her, and then when she died. But it didn't seem as if he was consciously aware of it. I took a minute, riffling through his thoughts. They were all pretty nasty and disrespectful, but I knew he didn't do any of the kidnappings.

_God damn it, I can't believe they were taken. I'm just glad I don't have to be outside, there would be no way I could have eyes in every direction, and I'd be taken in half a second. There's no way I'm going to be strapped to a table and forced to meet the sun. _It was obvious that this guy wasn't it because he was even afraid he would be next. I couldn't believe the king would hire someone one as cowardly as this guy, but hey, it wasn't like I was in any danger of being kidnapped so who was I to talk?

I shook my head and Ron stepped out of his little corner and led me through the doors. It was a long night, endless minds and endless snobby, whining voices. Every vampire sneered at me as I passed as if I was a bug that needed to be squashed. I didn't understand it, but I only assumed it was because I was a new vampire or a baby as they put it. I only really wanted to get back to Eric. I tried finding his mind in the mess, and only got whispers of his accent floating around. All he was doing was straining his ears to try and hear me. He was opening our bond to the point where it breached painful for both of us in order to ensure I was okay. 

He showed me the inside of the entire inside of the house, every bathroom, hallway, bedroom, everything. It was insanely boring and tiring. And by the end of the night I was mentally scared by all of the horrific imagines running through some of their minds of the most recent meal, or their most recent kill. Some killed just for fun, and those were the more hideous imagines as they tended to keep the human alive for as long as possible before they actually drained them.

I couldn't feel dawn approaching, but I knew it had to be close because I had been at this for endless hours. Ron demanded to know my results, and I recited them to him. I thought I was going to be brought back to the king to recite the information again, since after all he was the one who wanted to know, but instead Ron led me directly back down to the dungeon. I didn't even fight this time. There were two vampires following behind us just in case though. When the opened the door, I walked in myself, and waited patiently while Ron put on gloves and opened the silver doors. I even walked in by myself.

The moment I walked into the wine cellar, I felt Eric's awareness and saw through his mind as he stood up. I didn't know when could feel my poking through his thoughts that I found held nothing but agitation, but suddenly he cut me out again, something I hated with a fiery passion. He stood standing, his face millimeters away from the silver until I walked in. At that point he fixed me with a steel gaze. I felt like he was peeling me back, layer by layer until I was bare and open to the world, just by that look.

I slid down against the far wall once they left the room, not before locking my cell behind them, and we were left alone. Eric stood silently, and after a few minutes that really seemed like hours, he slowly sat down on the ground himself.

"Eric…" I sighed, knowing he wanted me to say something. His gaze softened slightly at the sound of my voice, and I was able to look at him for longer than a few seconds now. I trailed off not sure what I was supposed to say. "God, I'm so screwed." I whispered, dropping my head in my hands and fighting back the tears. "No one is thinking about it, no one is guilty. If I can't find out who this guy is, then they are obviously going to kill you." I trailed off, feeling the tickle of the thick, bloody tear rolling down my cheek. Eric stayed silent, and I was grateful. There was nothing he could say that would have comforted me at the moment.

"I almost killed a girl." I whispered, and that got a reaction out of Eric. Hi eyes sharpened slightly, and I looked away, shamed. "They were giving me something to drink, because I was dying and I could barely concentrate on voices. I'd never drunken from a human before, Eric. I asked them how to stop, but they only smiled at me, like they wanted me to kill her. And I almost did. It just tasted too good…" again I trialed off, feeling my fangs come forward from the memory. I covered my face in my hands again, embarrassed that I could feel hungry at the memory of almost killing someone.

"They said I have a brother." I said finally, controlling the stream of tears rolling down my pale cheeks. I looked up at Eric then, wanting to see his reaction. His face stayed the same, except for a small smile.

"Oh yes, you have a brother." He said with a small chuckle. This sounded like exactly the thing I needed to distract me.

"Tell me about him." I asked, although it sounded more like I was begging. Eric's smiled softened, and as he began to talk, I got up and sat down next to the silver bars, and Eric did the same. It was aggravating that we were separated by only these silver bars, something we couldn't break.

"He is what you humans call a ladies' man." Eric began, and I was brought to a safe and comforting world just by the sound of his voice. It wrapped around me, comforting me in my never ending pain that I was suffering now. It lifted me up, and carried me away, far, far from where I was. And I felt slightly desperate as I scrambled to hold onto this feeling, the sound of his voice. I needed him more than anything, and the fact that he was going to get out alive lifted me higher than I already was. But I was brought back down with a loud thud as I realized he wouldn't make it out alive if I didn't figure out who the traitor was.

The fact that I was going to die slowly and painfully in a few days hadn't struck me yet. Instead I was drifting along lazily, Eric on the front of my mind, his safety at the top of my list. I'm sure when the moment came that I was chained down and Lorena stood above me with a bloody knife, it would sink in that I was going to die, but right now I just focused on one thing at a time.

I could feel dawn approaching like you could feel a sneeze coming on. It was itchy and annoying and made me want to curl my fingers' into a fist. I felt myself yawn as Eric continued to talk, and I heard high laughter that sounded like wind chimes, only later realizing that it was me who was laughing, something that seemed oddly out of place in my situation. Without realizing it, my thin wrist had creeped through the silver, careful not to touch it, and my finger curled around Eric's hand.

I felt his hesitation, unsure of what do, how to react. I could only guess he wasn't so used to reassuring and comforting people. But in the next second his own fingers curled around mine in an unbreakable knot, and I felt a surge of happiness, surprising both me and Eric. I fell asleep wondering if it was my own happiness or Eric's. 


	11. Chapter 11

I dreamed of Bill again. In this dream, he was in a small room with a fire cackling in the background like a sinister laugh. At some points, Bill moved so fast that he was only a blur, and then he would slow down to almost a human pace. Suddenly the door to the room opened, and the king walked in, smiling brightly at Bill before sitting behind his desk.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Compton." The king apologized, although it was more a mocking tone than an apologetic one.

"That is fine, your majesty. I only wish to ask you a question." Bill said, his voice rushed. He came to stand in front of the desk, his hands stiff at his side. The king nodded, waving his hand so Bill could go on.

"Are you holding Sookie Stackhouse against her will?" Bill asked, his voice breaking slightly when he spoke my name. The king looked up then, smiling kind heartedly, with a hint of humor as well.

"Bill Compton, do you not know of your Sookie's fate?" the king asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk.

"I'm afraid not, your majesty." Bill said his voice wary as if he didn't want to know the answer.

"Well, I'll have Ron bring you to her first thing tomorrow night, and she can tell you herself." The king laughed happily, and before the king could respond, the dream shifted. It was dark outside, and the world was spinning and turning and I was rolling around with it. I felt bones brake and blood spread and it seemed like an eternity before finally everything stayed still. But the nightmare wasn't done yet, because I could see someone walking forward, with black boots and black pants. They were walking slowly forward, but all the same getting closer and closer, and I knew I should run. I needed to run and get away because something horrible was about to happen. But I was stuck, and I was unable to move as they got closer, closer, closer, and suddenly right in front of my face. I watched the knees bend, and so they were kneeling on the ground, and I felt the tears spring forward as I waited to see the walking nightmare.

I woke up with a gasp again, sitting up only to receive a searing pain in my arm that caused me to yell out. I pulled my arm back to see the gash heal, and then looked at the silver bars. I crawled away from them just to be safe. Eric was sitting cross legged behind the bars, staring at me curiously.

"Sookie, what do you dream about?" he asked me, curiosity and concern etched into his voice.

"I dream about Bill, Eric. Jealous?" I sneered, massaging the newly healed wrist. I could still feel the echoing sting there, and it was annoying and itchy. The corners of Eric's mouth turned up in a half smile that sent a shiver up my spine. "No, I'm serious." I said, and his mouth went into hard line in an instant.

"It's weird. It's like I know what he is doing, like I'm in a room with him, but they don't I'm there." I said, my voice drifting off slightly as I remembered my dreams from the past two days.

"It's most likely his blood in you." Eric explained, only to receive a confused look from me. "He was you lover when you were human, and you both exchanged blood a couple of times. I believe his blood was still in you when you were turned, and now in turn you dream about him." He said, not looking too happy about that fact at all.

"But Eric, I think they are real." I said, and I couldn't help but notice the flash of skeptamism that crossed his face. Then it turned stone again like usual. "You're an ass." I snapped at him and he actually laughed out loud, a booming sound that I couldn't help but smirk at. "If the dream I just had was true, then he is going to be coming down here at any moment accompanied by that vampire Ron who held me down two nights ago in that clearing. He's going to ask me what they plan on doing to me." I told Eric, who looked at me with a suppressed smile. "Why aren't you taking me seriously?" I exclaimed. I watched him struggle uselessly to hide the humor behind his eyes.

"Because, Sookie, that's never happened to any vampire before." He said, trying to calm me down with a soothing voice, but failing when I saw the laugh hidden behind his eyes.

"Yah, and as far as you know, no vampire has had two makers before, either." I spat, and for a moment he stayed silent, the humor going out suddenly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it as we both heard the footsteps. I watched Eric's head snap around, his eyes fixed on the door with surprising intensity, as if he was waiting for something. Now it was my turn to smile.

"I thought you didn't believe me?" I snapped, turning my own head to look at the door and ignore Eric's glare. We listened carefully as the two sets of footsteps clicked across the stone floor. More footsteps were behind it, but they stopped at the top of the second staircase, where the first to footsteps continued down to the dungeon.

I knew who I expected to see walk through that door, but it still surprised me that I was right. It was the first time I had seen Bill in real life that I could remember. He looked exactly the same in my dreams as he did in front of me right now. The only difference was that his brown eyes may have been closer to black than brown at the moment. And just as I thought, Ron was directly behind him, tense and ready for anything.

The first person Bill fixed his stone, hard gaze on was Eric since his cell was directly in front of the door. He was momentarily shocked to see the tall, blonde vampire standing behind silver bars, but then anger replaced them as he remembered all of the horrible things this vampire must have done to him.

"It feels good to see you in your rightful place, Eric." He said his voice deep and unforgiving. This didn't seem like the nervous, scared vampire I saw in my dreams. This seemed like a hating, self-righteous bastard. Eric said we used to date, but standing here now, watching the anger roll around behind his eyes, I doubted that I could have held any emotions for this guy.

"And it feels good to know that I was right about you, Bill." Eric said back, his anger held hidden unlike Bill's. Instead he held a sense of coolness around him, but through the bond I could feel the anger like a tidal wave.

"Right about what?" Bill growled.

"That you would be too self possessed to hold loyalty to one kingdom for longer than a century before turning around a becoming the lapdog to a new kingdom." Eric snapped. I didn't think it was much of a button pushing statement, but obviously Eric knew Bill better than I did, and he knew exactly where Bill's buttons where, and he enjoyed pushing them. Bill's eyes flashed for a moment of pure murder and hate, before he suddenly seemed to realize someone else was in the same room.

He turned his eyes to me, and then stopped. I had never seen something so comical before. He had been so angry before, consumed in his own hate with Eric, but now he held absolutely no emotions in his face or eyes as he stared at me. His fangs, which had come out at the end of Eric's statement, retracted back into his mouth slowly as the anger receded. His eyes were wide, his entire body turning painfully stiff and unmoving. He looked exactly like a statue.

I looked at Eric a little uncomfortable with his stare, but Eric wasn't looking at me. He was staring at Bill in order to determine his mood, his reaction, to me. Bill stayed in the same position for what felt like forever, and I tried to hold his gaze, but I got really uncomfortable. Suddenly, thankfully, Ron broke the eerie silence.

"Mr. Compton, I'm sorry to say, but we don't have much time here." Bill seemed to snap out of it, blinking a few times and then straightening his posture.

"Who did this to you?" he whispered, but I heard it like he had shouted it in my ear.

"Um, The King I'm pretty sure." I said, glancing at Eric who smirked slightly before returning to that stony look.

"Sookie, who made you a vampire?" Bill clarified.

"Oh, I thought you meant who put me here." I said, laughing a bit hysterically for some reason, which got a satisfying wince from Bill.

"Um, I don't know." I said. I was unsure if that was the best answer, but if I looked over at Eric now, then Bill would know Eric had a part in it. I felt reassurance through the bond though, and so I stuck to the story.

"How?" he asked, his voice keeping that whispering shocked sound. I knew I had to think quickly, but I couldn't come up with a full story on the spot, so I decided to make it up as I went along, since I didn't even remember who turned me, and how it happened. All I remembered was waking up in that ditch.

"I was at my…" I thought quickly, struggling to remember what the place was called where I lived. "Apartment." I said quickly, trying to hide the slight pause.

"You have an apartment?" Bill asked, his eyebrows coming down in confusion. I had no idea what an apartment looked like. The thought just suddenly popped into my head for some reason. _Cousin Hadley! Cousin Hadley! Cousin Hadley_! I heard Eric's thoughts shouting at me suddenly.

"I was with my cousin Hadley at her apartment." I said, and then listened to the story Eric was weaving in his head. I recited it like a good little student, trying not to trip over the words in my own panic. "She's started to stay with the Queen most nights, so I was there alone three nights ago." I paused, waiting to hear what Eric was saying.

"Somebody came to the door with a package for Hadley, and they looked real tired. I couldn't blame because I think it was near 98 degrees that night in the apartment building. Hadley doesn't have AC." I felt like my voice was high and squeaky and a little to animated, so I tried desperately to make it sound more normal, and scared, like I was remembering the last moments of my life, which in a way I was, but only to Bill. 

"He asked for a glass of water, so I said yes and invited him in then turned my back to go to the kitchen and he attacked me from behind and turned me." I finished quickly. Eric wanted me to add how my body slowly drained of life and with my last strength left in my body I refused to the blood that was being forced into my body by the vampire, but I couldn't because I was too weak. I thought that that might have been a little over dramatic, though. Bill looked outraged for a moment, and then settled down again.

"Sorry, Mr. Compton, but the king gave me strict orders tonight, sir. I must take her now." he said calling out the open door. In a second three more vampires arrived, one of them putting on the infamous leather gloves to get the silver key and open my cage. For some reason I felt an unbound hate towards this Bill Compton. He stood there, looking at me as a vampire, locked in a cage, and that was all he did, just stand there. I was thinking that Eric had lied when he saw that we had a little thing when I was human.

Without thinking about how stupid I was, I lunged at Bill. It was unexpected, probably since I behaved so well last night, and I was able to get a good, solid punch in before I was dragged away, snarling and scratching like an angry cat. I was punched myself until finally I calmed down and stood, watching Bill's broken jaw reset itself.

"How'd that feel you jackass!" I shouted at him, and then quieted down. I heard a roar of laughter and looked at Eric. His head was thrown back in howls of laughter, and after a second, he tried to calm himself down unsuccessfully. I felt waves of appreciation and respect course through the bond and smiled at Eric for a moment. Bill was looking at me with what I thought would be anger, but instead was sadness. He was a confusing creature. So far it seemed like all vampires were that way.

"Where are you taking her?" Bill asked after a long pause where all you could hear was Eric trying to stifle his chuckles.

"Oh, they didn't tell you?" I sneered at him. His confusion answered my question. "I have to find out who the traitor is or else Eric will die, and then your pal Lorena—"I was cut off by someone kneeing me in the back and I doubled over in pain. I was dragged out of the room, and Bill followed suit shortly.

"What is she talking about?" he whispered urgently to Ron whom I assumed was the one to knee me.

"Nothing, Mr. Compton. She's just angry and wants to make you feel uncomfortable and angry as well. She's been out of sorts recently, but that's all you can expect from a new born vampire." He explained. I wanted to shout profanity at him until my throat hurt, but I held my tongue since I assumed I would be kneed again. Bill stayed silent, but I felt his concern echoing through the air. When we got upstairs, I was brought to the front doors. Bill followed, as if he was going to follow us out, but Ron stopped him with a hand.

"Thin king would like to speak with you." He told him with a stern look, and with one last anguished look at me, he walked away. All I could say was that I was a damn idiot for going out with that crazy, hate filled jackass.

I was pushed roughly outside, and then left alone with a nod from Ron. The fresh air hit me like a slap in the face. The sudden reunion hurt at first, kind of twisted my gut like it was asking me where the hell I've been for the past two nights. I took a deep breath in, holding the sweet, fresh flavor in my mouth. I shook myself mentally when I felt Ron's stare.

"We are going around the outside of the house now. Don't try to escape because blah blah blah, you know the drill. Let's get going." He said. He was agitated and uncomfortable for some reason, but I was distracted by the vampire thoughts around the house.

It was exactly like the night before. Only these thoughts were ten times more boring. They were a lot more concerned with security than the vampires inside the house. It was like all of them were on some shot of adrenaline shot. Their thoughts were going around and around faster than I could catch them, but none of them indicated a traitor.

It went by a lot faster than the other night, but it still took two hours to get to all of the vampires, and circle very, very slowly around the house. I was surprised when we got back to the front of the house so soon, and then terrified that I hadn't yet found out who the traitor was.

They were going to kill Eric.

That thought rang through my head clearly and soundly. I was filled with so much dread that I couldn't think about anything else for a moment. If Eric died, then I would practically be begging Lorena to kill me too. I was turning around to face Ron when his thoughts rang through my head. I didn't know why I hadn't thought of it before. It seemed so obvious to me now. His thoughts where the only one that I hadn't listened to and I guessed it made sense since he was the king's best man, and I was too busy with listening to every other vampire's thoughts that I was too drained to pay attention to the murmur in his own mind.

_Damn it, they expect me to get another one so quickly. It would be too obvious if I grabbed a vampire this soon. I don't know what I'm going to do. If one more goes missing then they are sure to raid the Fellowship of the Sun and then in an act of desperation they'll say it was me. How could I have been dumb enough to believe that they would actually just stop after I took two vampires?_

I stumbled backwards, my hand flying to my mouth in shock. My eyes widened, and then in turn, so did his. I had obviously caught him off guard. His thoughts had never been this loud before, and I could only assume his shields he had used to block me out earlier had dwindled down some. But for some reason I felt like my own telepathy had grown when I was outside, and his weak, unsure shields just couldn't stand.

First his eyes were deep in shock, and then they held defiance.

_Actually, this works out. I'll just tell them that you ran away. Thank you very much, Mrs. Stackhouse._ His cruel voice rang through my head. I felt tingly with fear. My finger tips tickled and itched and I curled my fingers into a fist. He took a step forward, and then faltered, his eyes know filling with shock once more. But there was something else hidden in there. Fear.

I looked down, and screamed aloud. I expected to see my pale, small hand curled into a tight fist, but instead I saw my bright, green glowing hand curled into a fist. It looked like a sort of hazy mist that was lingering directly over my skin. It was oddly beautiful, but it was horrifying. When I looked up again, all I saw was a giant tree branch swinging towards my head. I saw Ron's face twisted in a gruesome, hideous look of murder, fear, and anger. Then the branch collided with my skull, and I was knocked unconscious for the first time as a vampire.

…...

I woke up with a groan. I felt an oddly familiar searing pain, and I was suddenly afraid to open my eyes. I knew it was dark, and I knew I wasn't alone, because I could hear the thoughts of at least fifty people, all human.

_Wow, this is spectacular_

_This is madness; I can't believe any sane person would do something like this_

_I wonder what it will look like. Bobby says that they turn to mush, but Dad says they burst into flames. I hope it's the flames because that would be so cool!_

_I can't believe we had to pay to get in here. It's a rip off. We could all die at any point if she gets out of those chains, yet they expect us to pay?_

I was suddenly even more afraid to open my eyes, but I did anyways. I was standing up, and, pressed tightly against something wooden behind me. My arm were spread in a T shape, and tied to the wood with a large amount of silver. I looked down and saw my bare feet resting against the ground, but the ankles were tightly bound to the wood.

I wasn't wearing the clothes Eric gave me that first night. Instead I was wearing a champagne colored dress that fell to my ankles. It was made of a light, airy material that shuddered and moved with the slightest breath. The straps of the dress hung on my shoulders comfortably, and I would have been delighted by the design and how it looked on me if I hadn't been so scared by all of the faces staring at me.

There were rows upon rows of people sitting in plastic, fold up chairs. It was a neat gathering, with people wearing nice, formal clothes. There were every age of people, all talking to each other animatedly about what was going to unfold, and as I listened, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

_ERIC!_ I cried out through the bond, but got nothing in response.

I could see a tall, reaching church in the background, and couldn't help but think it was beautiful. We, however, were gathered in the lawn behind the church. When I turned my head, I saw trees behind me, but everyone was sitting on lush, green grass in front of me. Then a young boy, no older than eleven, saw me, awake and wide eyed, and he ran, shouting to his mom that the big, bad old vampire was awake. Then it got deathly quiet, and I could hear everyone of their heart beats, each going at a different beat, slowly driving me insane. I felt the familiar hunger eating away at my gut and my throat, and I tried to fight it away, since I wasn't going anywhere soon.

They all had flashlights, and in one movement they turned it on me, and I squinted against the harsh light. I heard their pulses, and tried to look away from the veins in their necks, but couldn't, and it only made everyone uncomfortable as they tried to raise the collar of their shirts up.

Suddenly a man with long, greasy black hair and a wide smile filled my vision.

"Well hi there!" he said cheerily, stepping to my side so the crowd could see me. "Only half an hour now, my people, and you will see gods power work right in front of you eyes!" he shouted to the crowd, and they all shouted excitedly, even those whose thoughts were skeptical.

"What's going on?" I whispered frantically to the man, and he turned his happy, smiling face to me. I could see a bit of insanity in there as well.

"Why, God has sent us a gift we could not pass up. He had shown us the path we must take against your kind, and you will be a symbol of our love for Him, and our symbol of our defiance against your kind." He said happily, loud enough so the first few people could hear and start repeating it to the people behind them.

"I don't understand." I said honestly. He sighed, obviously annoyed with me.

"You are going to meet the sun vampire, and burn for everyone to see." He said quietly, so only I could hear him.

"Who are you?" I asked, shocked any sane person would do such a thing. He looked confused for a moment as if he was surprised that I didn't know who he was.

"Well, I'm Reverend Steve Newlin." He said with a small chuckle. It didn't ring any bells in my head, but from searching the other minds; I found out that these people were from the Fellowship of the Sun and that Steve here was the leader. And apparently he wanted to kill me. Because I was a vampire. I could feel dawn pulling on me, and I shifted uncomfortable. I needed to get somewhere dark, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. The silver dug into my arms and I hissed in pain, my fangs suddenly springing forward. Everyone in the first three rows screamed and scrambled away like I was going to attack them right then and there even though I was tied up.

I looked at what I was tied to, and got this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I instantly recognized it.

"You're going to burn me on a cross?' I whispered, and was met with a happy, insane laugh from Steve. 


	12. Chapter 12

"You're going to burn me on a cross?" I whispered.

I felt like it was wrong, so horribly, outrageously wrong. I could remember nothing at what the symbol represented or anything that had to do with churches and religion. I couldn't remember if I had my own religion, if I held straight to it, or if I chose to live without one. But I still knew that this was horrifying wrong.

"Why?" I gasped. I had never done anything to this man. I had never once seen him, harmed him, tried to harm him, or intended to harm him. I just didn't understand.

"Because you exist." He said back at me, the smile whipped off of his face to be replaced by the most pure hate I had ever seen. For whatever reason, this man hated vampires. And I could see by that pool of hate that there was no way anyone could change his mind about how he felt. He had deluded himself into believing one thing, and it was actually pretty sad that he had chose to live like this, unable to really love anything.

Of course I had nothing to say to that. I could only prolong my time; maybe change the mind of others in the crowd. I could hear their thoughts. Some had almost the same hate and anger towards vampires as Steve, but I doubted anyone could equal the amount of hatred this man had. But other men and woman and children were skeptical, thinking that this was going too far.

Only Steve knew that there were two other vampires. Only he knew that they were still alive, but not for much longer. Only he knew that he intended to sacrifice them as well, one with a stake, the other burned like me. But now I knew. Now I knew, and there was nothing I could do about it.

It was kind of ironic that I was now one of the most powerful creatures on the planet, with my speed and strength and mind reading, but something as simple as silver, or the sun, could incapacitate me or even kill me. Something as harmless as blood could send me into frenzy, like it was almost doing right now. The smell was overwhelming. Not all of them had nice smelling blood. Some even made me want to puke they were so horrible, but the thought of the blood, and the taste and power it gave me, made it impossible to retract my fangs.

"I feel sorry for you." I said suddenly, louder this time, and the crowd fell silent, their muted whispers stuck in their throats as they watched me and Steve.

"How so?" Steve asked. He had a cocky smile on his face, but I could hear the apprehension in his mind. He didn't want me to unsettle his people. He wanted them to hate me as much as he did.

"You have deluded yourself into thinking that we are the enemy, that we are monsters in every way, shape, and form, and that there is no human qualities vampires have." I said, and the confusion in his mind lessened slightly. He was becoming glad that I was saying these things out loud, as it made it easier for him.

"In that crazy little mind of yours, you have nothing but hate, and that masks the truth from you, and you make it so that it masks the truth for everyone. You speak out to the people, try to send them on the path to become just as insane as you are, that way no one can understand what really is happening." I said. Ah, now I felt the fear. He was on the verge of just staking me at the moment. He had one in his jeans belt, as did everyone else here. He knew my plan to dissuade everyone.

"And what is the truth?" he asked me, his eyebrows coming together in mock interest. I smiled despite the immense amount of pain I was in.

"You're the monster." I stated, simply and firmly. "You are the one who has destroyed and killed. It is not in your nature to do this, because you are all human." I said, now taking my eyes away from Steve Newlin's and scanning the crowd. "Yet you make it your nature to take the lives away from us as you are about to do now. It is in our nature to do what we do. We are predators, drawn to the hunt."  
I admitted, trying to shrug despite the chains. "Yet you do no kill and hunt down every other animal or predator, every species that had ever killed a human, had killed anything. You only focus on us. Why is that?" I asked.

"You are an abomination, a demon sent to Earth straight from hell. You take on human bodies, and drink the blood of other humans. You spread your evil and malice, tainting our society." Steve spat, taking a step forward. I did not look at him though. I kept my eyes straight on the crowd.

"No, Steve Newlin. You are the demon, sent here straight from hell, shedding the blood of humans and vampires alike. Tainting the minds of everyone around you, spreading your own evil into the minds of those who are innocent." Now I turned my head to him, keeping the pain from my eyes. He was at a loss for once. He had no idea what to say in response to me, for once. I listened to his thoughts as he recited his speeches he had spoken in the past, but each one he threw aside.

I waited patiently, though, letting the silence lengthen, allowing more and more people to feel agitated. I had no idea that I was so good at persuading people. But then suddenly things turned sour.

I hadn't caught onto his train of thoughts until it was too late, and I couldn't prepare myself. Maybe I could have announced what he was going to say first, making it a confession instead of an accusation, but of course I didn't remember it.

"I remember you." He said aloud, and people hushed each other even though no one was speaking. Their wild heart beats were driving me insane. I was fighting for my life, yet I wanted to kill everyone here at the same time. If they released me, I couldn't just turn around and snap everyone's neck. Because as much as I was using these words to gain freedom, I backed them up just as strongly. I didn't think I was a hypocrite, and I surly didn't want to become one.

"Yes, I remember you now. I can't believe I'm only now recognizing you." He shifted so his body was only slightly turned to me, making it easier for people to see his face and see how calm he was. Only I knew the torment he was suffering inside of his mind, trying to stay cool while he was burning hot.

"You were human then." He said, and in that one sentence he had everyone's full and undivided attention. I felt sick.

"Yes, you were human and you were with that vampire. They were going to kill us all and you stood by and waited for it to happen. You were a fang banger as a human, and obviously it didn't get you very far, now did it?" he asked, a slight smile on his face. I didn't remember this, of course, but I could see the images in his mind, and I knew they were true. I also knew he was keeping things out.

"You watched while we almost destroyed your blonde Viking, and then you watched while he tried to kill over three dozen people. You say it is not in our nature to kill, but it is obviously in yours." He stated that with a smug, full grin, the panic leaving his mind for good as he thought he had cornered me. I felt everyone in the crowd, literally everyone, become devoted to this man and what he was about to do.

I felt sick that these people were so ready to believe in someone. They were so ready to follow someone command, no matter if he was completely insane and disturbed. Now I not only wanted to kill them all for their blood, but I wanted to kill them all because they were horrible excuses for human beings.

"Yes, and why are you still alive, standing here, telling me this story?" I asked him, trying to remain calm at the sudden devotion in these people's minds. I was losing the battle, but I still had hope. I could turn this around on him.

"Why didn't those vampires kill you all? Why did they stop if you were about to kill one of them?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows. The people's devotion didn't waver. They only became merrily curious like this was an interesting movie. Steve didn't respond, and now it was my turn to smile as I intently listened to his thoughts. It was odd because they were more like scenes from that day than thoughts but I caught the drift.

"One vampire stopped them all, didn't he?" I asked him, and got silence in return. "He stood up above everyone else, and ordered them all to stop. And they did. Everyone. No one died, and all you got was a paintball in the head for being a completely murderous, psychopathic ass. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me." I said, raising my eyebrows. No on shifted their thoughts though, and I became agitated.

"Don't you people understand?' I exclaimed, my voice rising slightly in desperation. I felt dawn clawing inside of me, making me shift uncomfortable, and therefore making the silver cut deeper into me. My eyes drooped down a lot, and it was awfully painful to keep them open and not just go to sleep and give up.

"Don't you understand that there are vampires who still have their humanity? There are vampires who don't want blood spilt between vampires and humans. I know there are vampires who are sick and cruel, but it's only people like you who are fueling those desires to kill and hate. You hate us so much, that we have no choice but to retaliate. You are blinded by your unintelligent obsessions in hating us that you become so insanely STUPID and don't realize it's your entire fault." My voice was high now, verging on shouting, but I didn't want to scare them.

I felt like I had stepped over the line, pushed them too far by calling them stupid and inhuman, but instead I felt their devotions wavering again. I might still have a chance after all.

I fought a wave of drowsiness and continued.

"I have not killed anyone in my existence so far." I said, keeping out the part where I had only been a vampire for three days.

"I do not intend to do so, even though people like you make me want to do just that. Kill humans. If only you guys could understand how much you determine our choices. We came out into the open, hoping for acceptance. We had been hiding in fear because we were scared of situation just like this." I said, my voice lowering, becoming more heart-felt, even though I hadn't intended it to sound like that.

I was plucking this information out of people mind as I talked; proud of myself I could do so while I was so damn tired. I just wanted to go to sleep, and I was beginning to think that it would be a whole lot easier if I could just do that. Go to sleep and forget about all of this. I felt my toes curling in the dirt, liking the feel. I focused on the cool feeling and the texture as it rolled over my skin, and forced myself to stay awake. Dawn was so close, I could feel it.

I felt their shock for a moment at my words, and I heard them all as they shifted more my way. They were intensely stupid beings, capable of being manipulated this easily. Three or four sentences and Steve had them in his grasp. They seemed like nothing could change their minds, no matter what. At least, that's what they made themselves think. Now, they were moving my way, and I had barely spoken anything.

"Yes, we were afraid." I said, repeating myself so they believed me. "Vampires were afraid that they wouldn't fit in." I said simply. It sounded so childish, so immature and volatile, but it was crazy enough for everyone to believe. But they didn't fully believe me, and I was running out of things to say.

In one final, desperate attempt to keep my immortal life, I begged.

"My name is Sookie Stackhouse and I do not want to die again." I said, so low I was afraid no one could hear me, but I heard my words echoing through their mind. I was surprised by the amount of people that suddenly fell in my lead and believed me. It wasn't everyone, there were still the people who were desperately in love with Steve Newlin, but it was enough, and Steve knew it.

For the second time that night, I missed his thoughts, and it turned sour for me, again. I was so proud of myself for speaking and listening to their thoughts at the same time, yet when I'm not talking, I miss something so insanely important.

His hand reached behind him in what would be a blur for human eyes, but my keen senses tracked his movements with ease. I heard his fingers brush against the stake, then I heard his knuckles crack as he gripped it tighter than was normal. And then the strangest thing happened.

I itched, really bad. Not uncomfortably, though. It was like a little tingle all over my skin, sort of tickling me. I curled my fingers into a fist, unable to itch all over my body because I was chained. And it grew. It grew to the point where it breached painful. And it grew really fast. In the time it took for Steve Newlin to reach behind his bloated waist and grip that stake with his cracking fingers, the feeling grew so strong I thought I might scream, and then it popped into disappearance. It was so odd, like it was there one second, then gone the next. But when it left, I was changed, different. I vaguely felt my toes gripping the dirt beneath me, and some part of my mind registered the fact that I was somehow drawing power from the dirt beneath my feet. The dirt.

It was the thing I had woken up to, what surrounded me when I opened my new eyes, and looked at the world for the first time. It was all I could smell and feel and see, and now it was all that I could think about and it was what was giving me this increasable source of power. I mean, I felt so strong! But I also felt so different, like a part of me wanted to use the power, but the other part didn't even know how to use it. But the part that wanted to use the power was ten times larger than the part that had no idea how to use it at all.

Something took over my body, something strange, yet wonderfully pleasant. I was faintly aware that my skin was faintly tinged blue, and that my muscles were so tight that they hurt, bulging against my skin.

From some place far away, I realized that the chains were burning hot. They were bright orange, and hurt even more against my skin. But in that instant, with my new found strength, I snapped them all, and they fell to the ground with a clank.

In the strange void I was in I realized that people were screaming, scrambling around and trying to run away from something. From me. I realized what I was doing, how I looked. My eyes were blazing with hunger and hate and pain. I was taking out all of the emotional stress I've been felling the past nights on these people.

For a second I felt guilty, but only for a second.

With a snarl purely animalistic and maybe something even more, something more hideous, I turned my fiery gaze on the man behind most of my pain. Said man was now bringing a stake through the air, directly towards my chest. I flicked it aside like a paper clip, crushing his wrist in the process. I bathed in the sound of the bones crushing, smiling wickedly as his screams filled my body and with a hiss I grabbed his neck tight enough to make his face blue, but not enough to snap it. It seemed too quick.

I was purely animal now, and I was only faintly away that my glowing blue fingers, the color of the ocean on a clear day, or the sky on one of those perfect spring afternoons, were burning his flesh. He couldn't scream though, so I loosened my grip enough to hear one of them, smiling slightly.

I slammed him against the cross I had been chained to moments before, feeling it loosen in the ground slightly. With one quick swipe, I picked up the scorching red chains, barely registering the fact that they ate away at my palm, and in the next second, tied the shattered remains of the chains around him. His screams were loud and piercing. Music to my ears. The other screams were in fear, his in pain, and the combination was like nothing I've ever experienced.

"How does it feel?" I hissed, leaning my head in close so my blond hair tickled his shoulder. "How does it feel to have it burning away at your skin, and having no way of getting out of them because it hurts too much?" I asked leaning in so my lips brushed his ear. I pulled back to see his face. His eyes were closed in terror, sweat dripping down his face in disgusting waves, and he was screaming still. I'd have thought he would have run out of air by now. My fangs were pulsing painfully with the need for his blood, and with a snarl, I closed in, not without feeling horrible, horrible pain.

I pulled back, too stunned to scream, to surprised to do anything really. I did turn around though, on unsteady legs, and looked into the terrified eyes of a young teenager, no older than seventeen. He had been one of the devoted ones in the crowd, and when I looked down at my chest, I realized just how devoted to Steve he was.

I could faintly see the tip of a wooden stake that had passed through my entire body. I felt bloody tears spring up, feeling them fall down my pale, sparkly blue cheeks. In the boys mind I saw they were a deep, blood red, but they were glowing blue as well. It was beautiful. I reached to the tip of the stake, pulling it out the rest of the way with a nasty sucking noise.

The boy stood there in shock and horror, watching the blood absolutely drench my shirt. I was shocked myself. I let out a squeak of pain, unable to do anything else. I was looking at the whole in my body, and I bent down to look through it.

I could see Steve behind me through that hole.

And through all of the pain I was feeling, I was fascinated. I vaguely wondered how far off my rocker I must have gone to find this fascinating. I was insane, blood lust was all I had on my mind, and seeing my own blood was amazing. And then I realized I wasn't dead yet.

I looked up at the boy, shock still on my face, and the corners of my mouth twisted up into a lopsided grin.

"You missed." I whispered, surprised that it hurt, but I could feel it closing. Without thinking, vengeance the only thing on my mind, I leapt forward, hearing the kid scream and then hearing Steve scream. I knocked the kid to the ground, and he stopped screaming as the breath was knocked out of him. I plunged the stake through his shoulder and deep into the ground underneath him.

I stood up, inhaling the smell of blood and listening to the screams.

Only when the wound closed with spasaming finality did I snap out of it. I was aware that the blue tinge to my skin shut off like a light switch in that second, and I was severely uncomfortable with the amount of horror I was feeling. I watched the boy writher and scream in complete agony, and I turned my head to see Steve struggling himself, both unable to get away. They were soaking in their own blood and tears.

I turned around and saw everyone screaming and running around, and knew I was dead. They were going to call someone and gang up on me, killing me.

"Hey!" I shouted so loud I pierced my own ear drum painfully. For half a second everyone paused. They screamed and cried, but in that one second, every eye turned to me, and every mind was now mine. I don't know how I knew what I was doing. I suspected that the feel of blood and dirt between my toes was helping, and that I could read minds made it easier. But I knew a trace of that unbelievable power was still lingering in my body, allowing me to do this. I wondered how I knew I could even do this, capture everyone's mind at once, but that wasn't important at the moment.

"I need you to stop screaming." I said, my voice wavering as I felt the rays of sunlight touch the horizon. Doing this to so many people was literally draining me of everything I had. I was dying in the attempt to glamour everyone. They all stopped screaming and straightened up, their eyes wide and unseeing.

"You were never here. You all went out to dinner and you all got drunk. You can't remember what happened. Those of you with kids need to feel insanely guilty for getting them drunk as well." I said. I wanted them to be insanely guilty, because they had brought them to such an event. I didn't know if any of them would believe a child would like the taste of alcohol enough o get drunk, but I could only hope.

"You are going to leave now with you family. Never come back here again, never tell anyone what happened. As far as you know, this place doesn't exist." I said, and closed my eyes in exhaustion. I heard them drag their feet across the grass, and I did as well, towards the church.

There was no time to take care of Steve and the kid. I could do that at night fall or someone else would find them with all of their screaming. Using the last of my strength I ran across the lawn and into the building, screaming at the amount of pain I felt when the first rays of sunlight caressed the building.

It was like my sole was being ripped from me, and I remembered, for only the briefest of moment, being drained, and how similar the feelings were.

I moved to the closest door, which happened to be across the hall. My feet slapped against the cold stone, and the doorknob felt cold. I took a shuddering breath even though I didn't need to. I was just in so much pain and I was so tired that I needed something to calm myself. When my hands began shaking too much to open the door, I snapped it off of its hinges, descending down stairs and away from the light. My eyes closed and I drifted away, falling down the stepped and breaking a crap lot of bones. I screamed, waking up long enough to heal and open the next door.

I crawled on my knees, my head slumped and my eyes closing, my back burning and smoking from my un-healing skin. The burnt flesh from the sun wasn't healing, and it only made the pain constant and unmoving. I closed the door behind me, realizing it wasn't light tight. I felt the sun burn me, but I had absolutely no strength left. I had never thought you could feel this tired, this helpless, and it was so uncomfortable and horrifying.

Through slitted eyes, I watched two pale forms run to me, hissing in pain when the sunlight touched them. I felt their cold hands grip my upper arms, moving faster than humanly possible, and dragging my back into the church. I wondered how they got out of whatever cage they were held in, but frankly I didn't care.

The last thing I remembered before the third, most exhausting night of my life was over, was hoping that I would just die there, despite what I said chained to the cross.


	13. Chapter 13

Bill was furious. I watched him as he paced back and forth between the king and Eric. Eric himself was sitting in a chair with two vampires on either side of him.

"She took off, Eric. You know the consequences." The king said, his expression grave. Eric looked calm, but his eyes were panicked.

"Sir, I promise you that she has not taken off. She is in danger, I can feel it." Eric said, his voice slightly urgent.

"Your majesty, I can feel it too." Bill agreed, his voice urgent as well, but not nearly as much as Eric.

"You both have had her blood?" the king scoffed. His eyes were wide and surprised. Neither Bill nor Eric responded.

"Wow, I'm starting to rethink this whole Lorena thing. What kind of girl must she be to get the attention of two vampires?" the king asked, and Bill stopped pacing for a moment.

"What Lorena thing?" he asked, his teeth clenched.

"Oh, nothing that concerns you Mr. Compton. I suggest we get back to the point at hand." The king said, waving his hand dismissively. "Now, how come I should trust you, Eric? For all I know you could just be fighting for your life, and don't care about the girl at all." He said. Eric hissed, his fangs coming forward.

"Or not." The king said with a smile. "Retract your fangs, Mr. Northman. Bill assumes she is in danger as well, so I guess I have to think about it for a moment." He said, sighing and leaning back in his chair. "If she was indeed taken, then we have just narrowed down the list of suspects down to ten."

Eric's eyes flashed for a moment, and he seemed to cringe.

"Sir, she is being tortured somehow." He said aloud, and the king only continued to stare at nothing.

"Sir, dawn is nearing. The Fellowship of the Sun has her, and they are going to bring her to the sun. I know this." Eric insisted, and Bill nodded next to him. The king groaned.

"It's too early to dawn, boys. We would not get there in nearly enough time. She will have to fight for herself tonight, and then we'll see for ourselves tomorrow night if she is still alive." Russell sighed, placing his hands on his stomach in comfort.

"That's it? You're just going to sit here and see if she's dead or not? Sir, she knows who the kidnapper is. She has information that could save your kingdom." Eric pleaded.

"Eric, calm down. I'm going to figure it out one way or another. You are dismissed." The king said, looking towards the fire that was crackling in the back ground.

Eric was hoisted to his feet by two guards, who then forced him out of the room. Bill and the king were left alone.

"Sir, I hate to ask again, but what Lorena thing? Have you struck a deal with her?" he asked, leaning forward.

"Bill, I hate to answer you twice. Never mind the matter, it does not concern you. You may go to you courters for the day." He dismissed Bill, who in turn had no choice but to turn and leave, his fangs hidden behind his lips.

I woke with a gasp, sitting up quickly like I did every evening, although this time my forehead smashed into something hard. I yelped in pain, quickly falling to my back once again.

My eyes snapped open, looking around me to find the source of my current pain. I came face to face with an amused vampire.

"What do you dream of?' he asked me. His hair was incredibly short and black, his eyes small and black as well, although he didn't seem to have that hardness about him that most vampire had.

"Am I dead?' I squeaked, the previous nights events replaying in my mind again and again.

"Well, technically you are, but if you mean completely dead than no." he said. I pulled myself up into sitting position, looking around the room. Another vampire was standing against the far wall, his body stiff and his brown eyes piercing. His hair was as short as the vampire in front of me, and I could see a big resemblance between the two.

"Are you brothers?" I blurted out.

"Yes. I'm Victor." The one in front of me introduced himself. "And that is Alder." He said, introducing his brother who was staring at me intently.

"How did you escape?" I asked them, standing up slowly and backing away. I wasn't used to trusting people. I could feel my fangs behind my lips, and I tried hiding it as best as I could, but I couldn't help being defensive.

"What do you mean?" Victor asked.

"Well, I was dying, and then you two rushed forward. I was just wondering how you got out of whatever room they were holding you in to get me." I said, suddenly realizing the scorching pain all over my body.

"Oh, well the FOS members are not smart at all. They were leading us out to be sacrificed. Steve was going to wait until the following day for me, and then the day after that for Alder, but he made a last minute decision because he was growing nervous about having two vampires in his basement. So when they guards leading us out heard the commotion, they were momentarily distracted which gave us enough time to snap all of their necks." Victor explained quickly. I winced slightly at his forward violence. All the while he had been talking; I had been assessing my body, trying to locate the pain.

There was a hideous burn on my arm, the skin had been literally melted away, and I could see the muscles and tendons. I watched it heal, but insanely slow. In five minutes, only the thinnest of layers had healed. It would take all night, maybe forty eight hours at the most for this painful process to finish. I knew there was an identical one on my back, although that one was horrifyingly worse. I was glad I couldn't see it. It took all my strength to focus on what Victor was saying.

"What is this?' I hissed, looking up from my arm and shoving my arm in his face.

"That's what happens to vampires who get in the way of the sun. If we hadn't dragged you away from the light under that door, it would have burned a hole right through you before setting you on fire." He said, and I grimaced, lowering my arm with a wince.

"I need to go outside. I left Steve Newlin chained to a cross with molten silver and a kid staked to the ground." I muttered, standing up.

"Hey Alder, maybe this chick is more like you than you thought." Victor laughed from behind me. Why he found the matter funny I didn't know.

I moved out of the building at vampire speeds, reaching the two bodies in the clearing. The boy was dead. My heart wrenched painfully as I looked at his pale, dead body.

"He still has a spark left if you want to turn him." Victor whispered from behind me.

"Gah, no! He drove a stake through my stomach. The last thing he would want is to become what he tried to kill." I said, moving my eyes to Steve. He was still alive, and his eyes fluttered open to the sounds of our voices.

"Demons!" he suddenly shouted, fully awake, struggling against his bonds and hissing in pain from the burns on his wrists and ankles.

I quickly moved towards him, reaching my hands out to undo the bonds.

"Get away from me." He spat. I ignored him, and moved closer. When he spit in my face, I hissed, suddenly gripping his neck.

"Behave." I growled in a low voice, and his face paled from the look in my eyes. I ripped a piece of my shirt off, wrapping it around my fingers before taking the silver off. He fell to the ground in a heap when the last restraints were taken off. The burns looked hideous and gruesome, and I tried not to kill him from the scent of blood, but I'm sure my eyes melted to black in the struggle.

Alder seemed to notice, because he picked the man up by the scruff of his neck quickly. Steve yelped in surprise and then fright as he was dragged into the woods. I didn't hear any screams yet, so I could only assume his death hadn't arrived yet, or Alder made it quick.

"I never thanked you for saving me." I said suddenly, turning o look at Victor.

"No need, my lady. It was a pleasure saving one as beautiful as you." He said with a dazzling smile. It was odd that I felt no attraction to this man. He was definitely handsome, and he seemed kind enough, which was unusual for a vampire. But I didn't want to be with him. When I looked at him, all I saw was Eric. Oh god, what had I gotten myself into?

"Was Ron the one who took you too?" I asked as I watched him rip the stake out of the boy with a stomach turning pop. I looked away.

"Yes. The bastard put a net around my head. Then he dragged Alder into the forest, making him think they had a lead on me, and then did the same to him. The king is going to have shit fest when he hears about this one." Victor said, and dragged the boy into the forest. I was left alone, in the dark, surrounded by the smell of blood.

I sat down on the ground, scrunching my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs. I bent my neck so my head rested against my legs, and I sobbed quietly. When had my life suddenly become so shitty? I groaned, the sound muffled by the dress.

"Sookie?" a voice called out, and I was on my feet in a second. I looked towards the source of the sound, my eyes resting on a pale form in the distance.

"Eric?" I squeaked. I couldn't see him so well from this far away, but I knew it was him. I ran forward as fast as I could, my feet moving so it felt like I was flying. When he saw my form rushing towards him, he ran faster, and we met in the middle. My hands moved to his face, cupping his cheeks, running across his lips, tugging through his blonde hair. His did the same, except he caressed me more gently, like I was a treasure, while I greedily took in his frame.

"Eric." I said again, more crimson tears falling down my cheeks. His eyes suddenly melted to black with desire and longing.

"Sookie." He whispered, my name sounding glorious in his voice.

Before I could process it, my lips were smashed against his in a greedy frenzy. I hadn't realized I needed him this much, needed him to be with me forever. I hadn't thought about the fact that I would have eternally been separated from him if Steve had carried out his plans. The thought made me shiver against him, and he pulled back, concern crossing his face.

"No, don't stop." I begged, and we were kissing again. His hands roamed over my body quickly, as if trying to remember every inch of me in case we were separated like this again. I couldn't get enough of his taste, the coolness of his lips, and firmness of his hands. He pulled away long enough to rack his eyes over my body.

"Mm, Sookie, you look amazing in that dress." I saw a familiar gleam in his eyes, and smiled into the kiss.

An uncomfortable cough sounded from behind Eric, and I was snapped out of the trance I was in. I stretched onto my tip toes, looking over Eric's shoulder to see the group of vampires standing there.

The king was in the middle, a small smile on his lips. Bill was to one side while Lorena was to the other, and a bunch of unfamiliar vampires were surrounding them. There were about a dozen in all.

"That is so cute." The king said, clutching his hearts. "Two lovers, reunited." He said, and his bottom lip trembled as if he was about to cry. I heard Bills faint growl, and I looked at him to see anger and jealously burning in his eyes.

"Oh no you don't, Bill Compton." I growled, stepping around Eric so he could see my full form. "You don't get to be angry when another man touches me. You don't get to feel jealousy. You are the bastard who left me. You don't deserve that." I growled. Eric grabbed my arm as I made to attack him. I hissed in pain, snapping my arm away from his grip.

"Sookie, what happened to your arm?" Eric asked my, taking my wrist despite my struggles and stretching my arm out so he could see the burn.

"They kept me tied up a long time. I just escaped the sun. I would be dead right now if it hadn't been for Victor and Alder." I said with a grateful smile.

"They're alive?" the king said happily. "Wonderful. What a happy ending to our little story." He clapped his hands together in delight. "Now for the fun part. Who did this to you?" he asked me, his expression turning completely serious.

I couldn't believe I had forgotten about that little part. It was such a big part of this whole mess and I had forgotten. My eyes instantly scanned the group of vampires, trying to find the one responsible.

"Ron." I said when I didn't see him.

"Ron?" the king laughed, and then seeing my face, his stopped. He turned around himself, searching the crowd for the man. So I guess he had come after all. I finally spotted him inching his way to the trees.

"There." I shouted, pointing at him. His eyes widened, and he turned to flee, only to run into the stake being held out by Alder.

"That's for tricking me into believing you were on our side, ass hole." I heard him hiss before Ron dissolved into sludge on the ground. I had to turn away from the site and the smell.

"Alder!" the king cried out happily. He didn't seem fazed by the fact that his best man was just murdered. "I thought you were dead!" he said just as happily. I stared at him in bewilderment. Victor showed up at his brother side, looking down at the remains of Ron, and then looking at the rest of the vampires.

"Your majesty." He said with a bow. Alder did the same, only stayed quiet.

"Well, I wanted to do the killing myself, but we can't always get what we want, now can we?" Russell said with a crazed laugh.

"Come, boys, we must be getting back now." He said, waving his hands in the opposite direction. They started to walk off, and I felt hands pushing me forward.

'Hey!"I shouted. Eric started struggling against the vampire holding him as well.

"Your majesty, what is the meaning of this?" Eris hissed, his fangs extended.

"You know very well, Mr. Northman." The king said with a confused expression.

"But we kept our end of the deal!" Eric roared.

"Not completely. Sookie still needs to give a little more." He said with an evil smile, and continued walking. I struggled harder, only to be beaten into walking forward. Eric was a little harder to calm down, but that much was expected, since there were six vampires already around him.

"But she was almost killed doing work for you! The least you could do is let us go." Eric said his voice dripping with malice.

"Eric, I'd watch your tone. I am not a man to go against my word. Lorena and I have a deal, something I am going to keep." He said, turning completely around and running into the night, ending our argument.

Bill looked confused, but Lorena forced him forward, back towards the mansion. Eric's growls became louder and fiercer. The vampires around him were becoming more brutal and the snapping of bones filled the air, along with cries of pain, and then growls of anger.

"Eric, stop." I said, my voice sounding small, but it rang through the air clearly. "Just stop. You're going free. That's all that matters. Once we get back to the mansion, they'll let you go, and you will go. You will not try some daring rescue mission." I said, eyeing him carefully. We started walking forward then.

"Sookie—" he began, his blue eyes boring into mine.

"No, Eric. I don't want you coming back for me. I don't want you. Leave me alone and let me die. That's what I want." I said, turning my eyes onto the ground. There was a long silence.

"Sookie, look at me." He demanded. I kept my eyes focused on the roots in the ground. "Sookie, look at me and tell me you don't want me. Look at me and tell me you want to die." He said.

I didn't want to. I wanted nothing more than to hold my tongue and let him rescue me, even though he would die in the process. I didn't want to die. I just wanted to stay with him and live in this crazy life, all the while sharing it with him. But I couldn't let him die.

I looked up from the ground, holding back the tears as I stared into his eyes. We kept walking forward, our arms held behind our backs.

"Eric Northman, I do not want you." I said with such conviction that his eyes widened. My voice didn't shake or break which surprised me as well. I kept going, hoping it didn't sound like the biggest lie of my life. "I do not want you, and I do want to die. I hate the way I am. I am a monster, and I am stuck this way for eternity. I never wanted to become this _thing_ but I was forced into it anyways. I am a freak, I do not fit into this world, and I want nothing more than to die." When I said it, I looked away, but not before seeing his carefully built mask break.

I had not seen Eric portray any emotion besides lust really. But what I saw was the deepest amount of pain I had ever come across in my life, and I'm sure my other life as well. I had hurt him beyond repair, and even though he would be living, he would never be the same. Ever. But I knew beyond a doubt that he would leave me. I could hear it in his mind.

I hoped he couldn't feel the emotions coursing through me at the moment. It consisted of regret, love, concern, and pain. I wanted more than anything for him to know how I felt about him, but if I admitted it, he would never leave. Because I knew he felt the same way about me, or at least it felt that way. The only way for him to leave, is if he thought it was what I truly wanted.

And I was in agony as well as I realized he really thought I didn't want to be with him. He believed me, so easily, and I was tempted to tell him how much of a blind idiot he was. But I held my tongue, which was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

I kept my eyes on the ground as we made out slow progress to the mansion, and I let the bloody tears trail down my cheeks until I had no more left. After that, I let the coldness and emptiness take over, avoiding any and all emotions. It didn't hurt nearly as much that way.


	14. Chapter 14

I was alone.

Eric had left the moment we reached the lawn of the mansion. When we finally got to the lawn, he turned to look at me, opening his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. I tried to keep my eyes on the ground, because too much was showing on my face, but I couldn't help it. I lifted my eyes to his, and we just stared at each other for what seemed like forever.

And then I couldn't take it anymore. I took a breath to tell him it was all a lie, and that it could never be true, that I would always want him, but I was pushed forward, and my eyes were ripped from his. He left then, a slight wind brushing through my hair from his hasty retreat.

I felt disgusting. I just wanted to take a shower and wash away the dirt and blood that coated my body. I tried not to even think about my hair, sticking in every direction, dried blood making it freeze in an odd position, the dirt making it look like salt and pepper hair.

But I ignored it since it would be pointless to take a shower only to be coated in my blood the next second. I would be dead soon anyways. I was led down the hallway, past the wine cellar and deeper into the heart of the house.

I was brought into a small room, with wooden floors and white walls. There was a table in the corner, and I tried not to look at the hideous tools lined up on it. A chair was nailed to the center of the floor. I was forced into it and silver was wrapped around my wrists, tying them to the arms of the chairs, and then my ankles to the legs of the chair.

I didn't fight, and when Lorena came in, I started to regret that. I thought I had been ready to die, because I had nothing left in this life for me. I felt empty, hollow, devoid of any fear or pain, which was better than it was before.

But then Lorena walked in, wearing skinny jeans and a black, tight shirt. She had a smile plastered onto her face, and she was pulling her hair into a pony tail as she walked in.

"Mm, Sookie. I thought the king was going to let you go." She said, shaking her head and walking to the table to my side. I stared straight ahead, looking at the door. "Gave me quiet a scare." She continued. I heard metal clicking together, and I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. A trickle of fear had started to seep in.

"You know, I had been playing this moment in my head ever since I saw your pathetic face in Dallas." She said, her voice suddenly lowering in a menacing tone. The chirpiness was wearing off. I felt more fear.

"I wondered how Bill would let a mere human touch him. But then again, he was always so… loving of the lesser creatures." She laughed, picking something up from the table and moving behind me. "And then I wondered how you could have deluded yourself into believing that he cared for you." She laughed again, and placed her hands on either side of my shoulders. She was wearing black leather gloves, and was holding something in one hand.

"Sookie, Sookie, Sookie. Do you see now what you have gotten yourself into? This is your entire fault. You would not be here if you weren't stupid enough to fall for a vampire." Her voice held mock sympathy, and I shuddered. She laughed. "Yes, Sookie. That is how you should have reacted to our kind when you were still human. You should have been afraid. I'm going to make you afraid, Sookie. Very, very, afraid." She promised, and I knew she was going to keep that one.

Something scraped down my back, and I yelled out from surprise and pain. I recognized the hissing and burning of silver as it made contact with my skin. She made the cut deep and long, running across the burn from the sun. I yelled out again, and she pulled away, walking around me so she was standing in front of me.

"I found this knife, you see, about two hundred years ago. Someone thought it was silver that killed us, not a stake, so they had this knife made." She twirled it in her fingers, looking at it carefully. I could see my blood on it, so I looked away. "He shoved it into my heart when I was feeding on his wife. I stuck it in his once I healed." I cringed, and looked up at her to see her looking at me with cold eyes.

Without any warning at all, she drove it through my arm, and I screamed loudly, the noise piercing my ears.

"Bill never loved you, Sookie. Never. He was mine, always mine, and you had no right to take him for as long as you did." She hissed, twisting the knife, causing another scream. She pulled it out, and I gasped from relief of the burning, only to feel more pain in my shoulder.

She continued on, never letting one wound heal before causing a second wound. It was never ending pain, and I was screaming for hours. When I thought she had had enough of my pain, she would do more. When I thought she would take pity, when my eyes would droop shut from exhaustion, my head lolling to the side, she would punish me severely, telling me to keep my eyes open. She told me I needed to stay awake, watch what I had done. She told me it was all my fault, that I was in pain because I was stupid enough o take Bill away from her.

I tried to tell her she could have Bill, that I was done with him and didn't want him anymore, but she reminded me that she was punishing me for taking him away before, not now.

She had a bunch of different tools that she used, each one causing more pain than the last. I had cuts and burns, all of them healing quickly. She obviously thought that they healed too quickly, so she spent an hour on my burns from the sun. That one was the most excruciating of them all because it was so tender.

I felt fear the whole way through it as well. I feared the next cut, or the next burn. I cringed away from her voice, her look. I wanted it to end, but I wasn't going to beg her for death. And all the while, I knew that was what she wanted me to do. She wanted to crack me down until I was nothing. She was waiting until the point where I regretted having Bill enough that I would beg for death, beg her to stake me through the heart and end it all. She was cruel and smart, knowing that I would never go that far down as to beg for it. It just meant she could have a few more hours of fun.

By dawn though, I knew she wouldn't keep me alive during the day. If I didn't ask for it by dawn, then she was going to give it to me whether I asked for it or not. I just needed to wait through the pain.

I know someone looking on would wonder why I just didn't give in. I had no one left; I had pushed everyone away from me. I was in agony from the torture, agony from my own mental pain, Eric's face constantly flashing in front of my eyes, but I wasn't so far gone, so pathetic, that I would beg for death although that was what I wanted most.

So I gritted my teeth, screaming when the pain came, letting the bloody tears fall, and trying not to look at the insanity in her eyes.

"Do you realize your mistake?" she hissed in my ear, pressing a silver rod into my back. I screamed aloud as it sunk into my back. "Do you realize why you are here?" she asked, digging it in deeper. I screamed again. "Sookie!" she growled, looking for a response.

"I did nothing wrong you psychopathic bitch." I hissed, and she pulled the silver rod out, stepping out in front of me.

"Sookie, you should know better." She hissed. She engraved her initials deep into my arm with me screaming the whole time.

"See, Sookie. We don't last." She said, and made me watch the letters disappear. "We only last with each other. You were human, you stupid, stupid girl." She said, stabbing the silver into my side on every word. My throat was sore, and I finally stopped screaming. I just panted, because I liked how it felt when the air passed through my lungs.

She looked at her watch, and sighed.

"It's already been four hours." She groaned. "I've already used everything I've got." She pouted. She looked at me, raising her eyebrows. "Do you understand now, Sookie?" she asked, and I nodded my head. I had understood ever since Bill left me. She didn't need to torture me for me to understand that.

"Do you want it to end?" she asked, and I stared at the floor. I was going to let her make that decision.

"Erg, Sookie. You're such a little bitch. Why can't you just say you want to die?' she asked me, grabbing a sleek wooden stake. "Hm, Sookie? Don't you want to die?" she asked.

Yes. I wanted to shout that in her face. But I held my tongue. She walked forward, pressing the tip of the stake into my chest.

"Say it, Sookie." She hissed, leaning her head down to brush her lips against my ear. I felt bloody tears leak over my eyes. She pushed the stake into my chest, breaking the skin. I cried out.

"Just four simple words, Sookie." She whispered, pushing it in deeper. "All you have to say is 'I want to die.'" She pushed it in deeper, and I wondered how it hadn't gone through my heart yet.

"Just do it." I gasped. I felt blood rising in my throat, and I coughed it out on my shirt.

"Hm? What did you say?" she asked me. I could hear the smile on her lips.

"Fuck you." I spat.

"Mm, not the right answer." She said, digging the stake in further. I cried out.

"What about you, Lorena?" someone said behind her, and she stood up so we could both see Bill standing in the doorway, his eyes blazing.

"Bill, what are you doing here?" Lorena said, looking back at me nervously.

"You told me she was set free." He said. I could see blood caked onto his shirt and I wondered faintly what it was from. I was too weak to focus on one thing for too long.

"What about me, Bill?' Lorena asked, straightening her back and getting her full authority look on again.

"What four, easy, words do you want to say?" he hissed.

"Get the hell out." She responded with a hiss half a second later.

"First you told me she had died when she was turned. Then you told me she was set free when you plan on killing her. You cold bitch." Bill growled. His eyes were black and his fists were clenched.

"Bill, just step out of the room and we can discuss this in a moment." Lorena commanded.

"Your released me a century ago, Lorena. You have no hold over me." Bill said.

"You love me, Bill." Lorena insisted, taking a step towards him.

"I tried to love you. But I did love Sookie, and left for her. I didn't leave her for you, Lorena." Bill said. I had enough strength to raise my eyebrows at him, and then look at Lorena who was shaking with furry.

She let out an animalistic scream of rage, and then turned to me, the stake raised.

I was ready. I was so ready for this moment, and I closed my eyes, waiting for it to happen. I saw flashes of Eric, his predatory look, his lust filled eyes. And then I saw his pained eyes, his broken heart and mind. Oh god, what had I done. I broke a Viking beyond repair. Jesus Christ, I had issues. He was perfect, maybe a little perverted and was always thinking about my body and sex, but he was who I wanted, and who I needed.

My eyes flew open, desperate to get that image of him in pain out of my mind. I thought I would be seeing Lorena and the stake going through my chest, and then nothing.

Instead I saw Bill and his eyes crazed and full of pain. I looked down, and saw a pile of vampire sludge.

"Oh my god, Bill, what did you do?" I gasped. He winced in pain over something, and then reached down for the gloves in the center of the sludge, picking them up and putting them on his own hands.

"Are you hurt?' I asked him, seeing his expression.

"I just killed my maker, Sookie. Her blood coursed through my veins for two centuries. It hurts a little bit." He snapped, taking the chains off. I gasped in pain, standing up when all of the chains had fallen to the floor.

"Bill, they're going to kill you!' I yelled.

"Sookie, you need to get out of here. I killed eight vampires to get to you. They are going to kill you as well as me if you don't get away. I will make sure your family is protected." He assured me.

"I need blood." I said weekly.

"I know. I thought you would." He said, leading me into a room where a woman had been tied up. Her eyes were filled with fear and she started screaming against a gag when she saw me.

"Bill, I can't take her blood." I gasped, but I could hear her heart beat, and feel the body temperature, and even as I said it, I was inching towards her.

"Sookie, drink." He ordered. For some reason, I attacked in the next second, killing her so her screams wouldn't alert anyone, and then draining her. I stood up when I was done, wiping the blood off of my mouth.

"Oh my god." I whispered, looking at the body at my feet. "I just killed someone." I gasped. I started crying then, and Bill took my arm, leading me away.

"Sookie, this was why I could never see you as a vampire." Bill said, and he was actually laughing.

"Bill, why did you leave me?" I asked him, and he let go of my shoulder, letting me walk steadily behind him.

"Lorena wanted to kill you, I was trying to prevent that." He muttered. We reached the hallway, and he told me to be quiet, avoiding my eyes the whole time and staying still, listening to any sounds. Then he motioned me forward and I began walking, my bare feet slapping against the floor. When Bill glared at me, a tried to make it quieter.

"Why would leaving me save me?' I asked him after a moment.

"Because if Lorena thought I came back for her, she would forget about you." Bill said, shivering slightly at some memories. I tried to block out his mind, but I couldn't help seeing the pain and torture, both physically and mentally, that Lorena put him through, and soon I was shivering as well.

"You can read my mind, can't you." He said without looking back at me. He was looking around him quickly; making sure no one could hear us or notice us.

"yah." I whispered.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"It's not your fault, Bill." I sighed.

We reached the front room, and he stopped me, closing his eyes and listening. I did the same, only I was searching for minds. Nothing.

"It's clear, Bill." I told him, and he waited a second longer before walking forward. He pushed open the doors, holding it for me to pass.

"Bill, where is everyone?' I whispered.

"I don't know." He answered cautiously, looking around the eerily dark night. The moon was hidden behind clouds, and so were every star that night.

I took a step forward, and was suddenly hit with a bombardment of voices.

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, clutching my ears uselessly since it was in my mind. "They're in the woods." I gasped, blocking them out as best as I could. "I'm sorry; I was focusing on the house. I didn't try to check the outside. Damn it! I can't believe I was so stupid." I said, but Bill was staring intently at the woods.

"Oh, Sookie. Wonderful to see you again." Russell's voice rang out, and I zeroed in on his form stepping out of the trees. He didn't have his happy grin in place, and he wasn't laughing. Instead, he looked furious. And it was terrifying. I saw at least twenty vampires stepping out of the woods behind him.

"And Bill. Good to see I made the right choice in welcoming you into my kingdom." He snarled, his fangs glittering in the night. "I knew you were a fighter. You took down, what, six guards?' he asked, his head tilting to the side.

"Seven. Not including Lorena." Bill corrected. The king snarled, taking a step forwards.

"Not so fast, Russell." Someone called out from behind me. I turned around in alarm to see yet another giant group of twenty or so vampires. A woman stood in the front of them, her hands on her hips and her eyes furious. Damn it all to hell! Things were moving way too fast for me to catch up.

"Ah, Sophie-Anne" the king said, his voice dripping with disgust.

"You have come to my territory without my permission, and then took a stay on my own land. You have killed, again without my permission. And you have held the child of my best man against her will. She was unable to answer his call because you held her here. Unless you leave now, I have the right to kill you." She hissed, taking a step forward.

Oh my god, my other maker was part of her kingdom. Maybe I was saved after all. What I didn't understand was why he had been calling me, and why Sophie- Anne or whatever her name was, was concerned about it.

They were each fifty yards away from me in either direction. I was in the center of a field that had potential to be a battle zone. Uh oh.

"Sophie, Bill Compton has killed my men. He must suffer the consequences." The king hissed.

"Yes, and he has also betrayed my kingdom, for which he will also suffer the consequences. So one way or another, Bill Compton will die tonight. Why not just leave and you will live as well?" she asked him politely.

"I will not leave here, Sophie. I have a right to punish those who have wronged me." Russell hissed taking step forward. My head had been moved between the two of them, back and forth, back and forth. It was creating a cramp in my neck.

"Then, Russell, I am going to have to kill you." She said. My mouth fell open. Really? This seemed a little overdramatic to me. Just because he didn't ask permission to stay on her land, and didn't ask permission to kill, and refused to leave, she was going to kill him. Wasn't he royalty as well? Maybe since he didn't ask permission, and he wasn't in his own territory, he didn't really have any authority in the matter. I don't know. It hurt my head to think about it.

But what did matter was that every vampire in this giant lawn had their fangs extended, and they were all hissing wildly. I searched Sophie's group and my eyes laid on my other makers eyes. He stood right beside her, but he didn't even spare me a glance. Bastard. My dead heart leapt out of my chest when I saw Eric, standing on the other side of Sophie. He, on the other hand, was staring directly at me.

With some sort of silent announcement, they both converged on each other at the same time. Eric winked at me quickly before he ran forward as well. And I so happened to be in the center of both parties.

Shit.

**AN: I know this is kind of a big cliff hanger, but there is only going to be one more chapter after this and then the story is done. Everything will be explained in the last chapter, so just bear with me. I'm going to try and post it tomorrow. Thanks. :)  
**


	15. Chapter 15

Obviously I was going to fight side by side with Eric. And he seemed to be on the queen's side. So I turned my back on them, and raced towards the king and his men.

I wasn't scared, although I knew I should be. I was scared for a little bit when they were just standing there, and I was in the middle, but now the familiar rush of adrenaline hit me, and I just anticipated the moment both sides collided.

I don't know who I hit first, but I know it was like hitting a brick wall. My fangs were extended, and I was snarling. I guess the force of my hit surprised him, probably due to my size. He stumbled back, and I was able to sink my teeth into his neck. He snarled, ripping me away from his body and throwing me to the ground, causing me to land on my stomach.

The moment I hit the dirt, someone was on top of me, twisting my body at an odd angle. I cried out, my burn searing, but not as much since the blood from the human had helped me heal. I was sure my back would have broken if whoever the vampire was hadn't been torn away from me. I leapt to my feet in time to see Eric rip his head off.

"Hey sweaty." He called over, smiling, his fangs coated in blood. I leapt towards him, and his eyes widened in surprise for a moment as he noticed my crazed eyes. I maneuvered around him, grabbing the stake that was aiming towards his heart. Quick as a flash, it turned it back on the vampire who had been trying to kill him. He dissolved onto the ground, and I turned back to Eric,

"We'll talk later. Just try not to die." I asked him, and his smile melted into a hard scowl as he ran back into the fight.

I took that moment to look around me. It was worse than I thought it would have been. Everyone looked terrifying, their eyes all black with the smell of blood. Already everyone was covered in blood and body sludge.

I could see Eric fighting in the center, taking on three vampires at one time. God, I think I might love him.

And I loved this. It was exhilarating, and I loved the feeling of having no control, of just letting out all of the emotions I had held in. And boy, did I have a lot of pent up emotions.

I was so confused about Eric. I thought, had hoped, that he had believed me, and that he was going somewhere to brood for all eternity. But it seems like he went to the queen, and got her and her men to come down here and start this war.

I didn't want to say it aloud, but I was so eternally grateful that he hadn't believed me. I had nothing to live for before, but if he could just forgive me, then I would have him, forever.

I wasn't going to assume that he would forgive me. There was a large probability that he would just leave me because I had hurt him too much, but hey, I could hope for it, couldn't I?

I jumped back into the fight landing on the back of a black haired vampire. He so happened to be the one who killed that teenage girl when I first got to the building. It felt insanely good to kill him, ripping his arm off and then finally his head. I was thanked by the vampire he had been attacking, but I barely listened.

The kill had left me exhilarated, and needing more. I forced my way deeper into the fight. I had no idea how to tell who was winning and who wasn't. I just tried killed more and more black haired vampires, and when if one of them happened to be on my side, then I would drag them out of the fight to heal before they joined in again. It was harder to kill vampires after that last kill. I wasn't nearly as experienced as them. I may have injured those enough for another vampire to get them, but I didn't kill anymore vampires. They were too fast, too strong.

I tried to use the mind reading to figure out what they were going to do before they did it, but the voices were too overwhelming and loud, and I couldn't concentrate. I almost died as a result.

So I kept my mind blocked as much as possible. I had to step out of the fight quickly when a giant chunk was taken out of my calf. I limped and ducked my way to the edge of the trees, and stood in the shadows until my calf healed. I took that opportunity to see who was winning.

We were winning handsomely. We had ten vampires left, I counted quickly, and they had six or seven. It was hard to keep count since they were moving so fast.

I could see the queen, her white shirt now red and soaked. She looked beautiful, running around and ripping vampires apart, her eyes ablaze with anger and blood lust. But that all changed quickly, way too quickly.

She was moving fast, doing amazingly well, but then she stopped suddenly her eyes going wide. Then her piercing scream filled the air and all fighting stopped. There was no sound, even those missing limbs didn't whimper or scream in pain for a moment. They just looked at the stake sticking out of Sophie- Anne's chest, and then they all watched her as she dissolved on the ground, joining the rest of the bodies.

My heart fell down to my feet. We had lost. The queen was dead, and the king would certainly not let any of us live. And we had been winning! The king stood standing where Sophie- Anne had been, his eyes wide and crazy from the impact of killing Sophie. That damn bastard was really annoying me.

I was getting ready to find Eric and flee into the shadows for eternity, but the fighting started up again.

It seemed like I had been wrong yet again about the way vampires worked. It had seemed like they depended on their Queen or King, but obviously they hadn't since the fighting was ten times more fierce than before.

The snarls were more rabid, blood thirsty. They were ferocious, knowing that their Queen had died. Once the king saw that they were all trying to get to him, but his men were holding them back, he slowly retreated out of the circle of fighting. I saw this, and my fangs came forward. He was inching towards the woods, and I jumped into the circle, trying to get the stake from Sophie's sludgy remains. I couldn't take him down with my bare hands. If I even attempted, I'd be ripped to shreds. Literally.

I spotted Eric take down a vampire, and then turn around towards a familiar friend.  
"Eric, no!" I shouted as I stepped in front of him, placing my hands on his chest. "Not him." I said, looking back at Victor who had a small smile on his lips.

"See, I knew you fancied me." He said with a laugh. "I owe you one, miss." He said with a wink, working his way back into the crowd.

"He saved my life, Eric. Don't kill him." I said before disappearing into the fight.

I was tackled from behind, and hit the ground hard. Sharp teeth ripped into the back of my neck, and I screamed out, reaching behind me to throw him off, but my arms couldn't reach back. He gripped my arm, bending it back, back, back. It snapped, and I was screaming, clutching the ground with my free hand as to avoid cutting into my fist.

That's when I remembered. As the pain took hold of my body, I tried to only focus on the dirt. It dug under my finger nails, coating my hand with its cool texture. Soon, believe it or not, as my arm was being ripped from its socket, I only felt the dirt. Suddenly I felt a zap up my arm like I was just severely electrocuted. I screamed out in pain, feeling it course through my body. But it didn't fade out like most shocks do. Instead it went down my legs, then back up them, through my stomach then down my arms and into my head, then back down again. It never even began to fade.

But I felt insanely powerful. So, so powerful. My knees scrunched up beneath me, and pushed him off of me in a quick swipe. He grunted when he hit the ground, and before he could blink (which as a vampire was unnecessary) I was on top of him, twisting his neck until it cracked sickeningly. He died quickly, and soon I was kneeling in sludge, and it was soaking through the dress onto my knees. I laughed aloud, my neck throwing back as I felt the adrenaline literally course through my veins. The energy I took from the ground made me go literally insane.

The shocks were still going through my body, but instead of being painful, it was exhilarating.

Like so many other times when I felt like this, my skin glowed blue, although it was hidden by the blood coating my skin.

I went on a rampage, killing three vampires and only realizing what I had joined the fight again for when I killed one of the vampires on my side. I was already next to the stake in the blood, and I lifted it up easily, slipping it through a vampire's heart on my way to the woods. There were two vampires left on the king's side, and they were on their knees, their hands up in defeat. I let out a breath as I recognized Victor and Alder. I was insanely lucky the only two people who had been nice to me in the kingdom survived. I wondered if Bill was one of the puddles on the ground, or if he got out somehow.

The fighting had stopped, but I was in the woods, following the king's scent. He had weaved quietly through the woods, and when the scent suddenly stopped in a large clearing, the ground littered with pine needles, I became cautious. The stake was in my hand, and I gripped it tightly. The clearing was empty, and I couldn't hear anyone. But my mind reading was advanced as well as my strength was, and I located his mind quickly.

_Three…_

He wasn't thinking in a different language, but I could recognize his voice and accent.

_Two…_

If I had a heart, it would have been going wild now. He was counting down to something, and I knew it had to do with me. Where the hell was he?

_One…_

I found him in the tree above my head the second he jumped down on my head, breaking my spin and paralyzing e for a moment. The stake went flying and I screamed loudly. The sound was horrible, and the pain was worse. But obviously the healing process was improved as well from my new power taken from the soil, because when he got to his feet, my back had healed and I was tackling him with a snarl.

I snapped at his neck, but his arm swiped out, smacking me in the face and causing me to roll over. He got on me, straddling my waist and biting into my neck. I screamed again, reaching to his arm and ripping it off. Now it was his turn to roar into the night, the sound echoing throughout the clearing.

He fell to the side, and then to his feet, his stump of an arm dripping blood. He turned around and ran into the woods, me following immediately after him.

I had just stepped into the shadows of the trees when I realized he had stopped, and had not really run off. By then it was too late, and I had already run into the stake, going completely though my shoulder. My screams made him flinch, but he smiled, my own blood dripping down his chin. I stumbled back, and the stake popped out with a sickening slurp.

I took a few steps back as I saw him raise the stake back, getting ready to throw it through my heart. He was moving fast, and the pain had disoriented me for a moment. I registered what he was about to do, and raised my arm over my heart, causing the stake to go through that, just brushing over the part my ribs were at.

He growled, gripping my wrist and upper arm, forcing my arm closer and closer to my chest. Oh god, he was going to stake me with the stake sticking through my arm. I curled my toes into the dirt, drawing power from it.

Now, I had no idea how to control this hunger and violence and blue glow that rose in me whenever I did this, so I had no idea that when I drew energy from it, that my hand would glow so brilliantly blue I had to close my eyes. And I didn't realize that I had been pushing his face away with said hand, and that he howled in pain and rage when the glow hit him. He flew back and I was gasping, taking a few steps back and gripping the stake, slowly pulling it out.

Again, I didn't expect Russell to recover from that so quickly. I saw his shadow loom over me, and I looked up quickly. His arm was moving towards me, my stake in his grip. I saw a horrendous burn on the side of his face in the shape of my hand. I only had time to close my eyes and wait for it. Wait for the end. Instead, I felt a breath of air and a thud.

I opened them to see Bill standing in front of me, his eyes wide.

"I always loved you Sookie." He gasped out, reaching his arm up t o touch my face. "Always." I grabbed his hand as it slumped to his side, seeing the stake protruding from his chest. Then he was gone, just like the other dead vampires in a puddle at my feet.

As fast as I could, with a new found anger rising up in me, I ripped the stake from my arm.

"He didn't deserve to die." I growled. I tackled him to the ground so I was straddling his waist.

"He didn't deserve to die dammit!" I screamed at him, raising the stake above my head. "Not like you." I whispered, bloody tears dripping off of my face. I brought the stake down, sending it through his heart in one swift movement. And of all the expressions I thought would have been on his face, he was smiling, his fangs going back into his jaw, his eyes g littering with insanity. There seemed to be no resistance, and he dissolved like the others. I crawled out of the mess, so I was sitting in clean pine needles, and then I just tucked my legs to my chin, hugging them tightly.

Bill had caused me so much pain. I still remembered it, the only thing I really could remember from my old life and it hurt to think about it. How could he be so stupid? Why would he think that by leaving me he would be saving me? I could handle Lorena. Not me personally, but all of the vampires had befriended could have handled her. Now that I was a vampire, I could have taken her myself, but I was human when I had Bill. And now he was gone and I… I realized some stupid part of me still loved him, and always would love him. Maybe not on such an intimate level of before, but still, the respect I held for him now was above all others.

He had taken a piece of my heart with him, damaging me beyond repair because the emptiness had taken over. And now that I had Eric, he told me he had always loved me, and that he had left me because he loved me. He went to Lorena to protect me because he loved me.

And I could relate so fucking much that it hurt.

"Sookie." Eric's deep voice rang through the clearing and I raised my blood stained face to see him standing ten feet away.

"I killed a king." I mumbled, burying my head in my knees again. "Am I going to get beheaded?' I asked him, and heard his chuckle. His feet crunched across the pine needles as he walked over to me.

"You look like the vampire from humans nightmares." Eric commented, and I lifted my head to look at my body as he knelt beside me. My arms were completely coated in blood. Completely. I ran my finger down my arm, and I left a trail in the blood. My dress, once pale, was deep red. My legs had thick bloody streams running down them. I could see a few pieces of clean skin. I was also coated in dirt. Blood and dirt, like a monster reborn and rising from his grave.

"Gah." I gasped disgusted. "Geez, Eric, I'm disgusting." I said, looking up at him with a smile. He was staring at me sadly, staying a good distance away from me. "Eric…" I began, but then trailed off. How did I tell this man I was in love with him, and that he was the only person I ever wanted or needed?

Someone cleared their throat behind us, and both Eric and I turned so we could see who it was. I was silently grateful that I could put this conversation off a little longer.

My other maker stood there and all of his pale creepiness, leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest.

My fangs leapt forward once more and I pushed past Eric so I could stand in a predatory stance, growling wildly.

"Calm down." He said, his voice clearly annoyed. He held his hands over his head as he approached us. "I come in peace." He added as he walked towards us, holding up two fingers.

I didn't move an inch.

"Okay, fine. I know I never really introduced myself." He said finally, dropping his hands to his side when he was ten feet away, sighing when he realized I wasn't budging. "I'm Alec." He introduced himself. I didn't make a move to say my name. "And I know your Sookie." He said, introducing me when I didn't do it myself.

"What do you want?" I finally growled. He moved his eyes to Eric, raising his eyebrows. Eric held his arm out to me, and I looked over to see him in a casual stance, not at all like me. What the hell?

"Sookie, you need to hear him out." Eric said. "I was surprised as well when I saw him at the Queens house, but apparently he is her number two man. She has known about your talent for a while, Sookie, and was waiting for the right moment to get you. Her knowledge of Bill's departure was delayed, so that's why your turning happened so late, but one way or another, Sookie, you were going to be turned into a vampire. The queen wanted you, so she was going to have you. She gave the order for Alec to turn you." He explained further. Against all of my better judgment, I stood up, but I did not relax. My muscles were painfully tight, ready for anything.

"I just wanted to tell you who I was, and that it was not my wish in any way to harm you, or Sookie." Alec said.

"Are you kidding me? You had no intentions of harming me? What do you call draining me and turning me into a vampire?" I yelled.

"Ah, yes. I am sorry, my dear Sookie. If it makes a difference, I never wanted a child." He said, and my mouth dropped open.

"I was under orders." He explained. "My former queen, Sophie-Anne, wanted to acquire your talents, and ordered me to change you in order for her to have control and to ownership over you." He told us. My moth fell further open.

"Sookie, he never killed you for his own gain. He only did so because he was ordered." Eric said quietly beside me.

"I was forced into the life of a vampire so I could be controlled?" I gasped.

"Uh, yah." Alec said, nodding his head. "Yah, that's about right."

"What the hell!" I yelled throwing my hands in the air. "Why should I not kill you right now?" I snarled, taking a step forward.

"Well, first of all, I was under the command of my queen, and your friend, Eric, knows the seriousness of that." He said, nodding to Eric, who in turn held out his arm to hold me back from him.

"Eric!" I exclaimed, turning to face him.

"He's right, Sookie. When you pledge loyalty to a kingdom, you have no choice but to follow orders, or else the consequences are serious, and you will forever be excluded from all of the other kingdoms, never having any respect anywhere." Eric explained, and my anger lessened a little. Only a little, though. "And when I saw him with Sophie-Anne when I went to see her, I understood, although I didn't want to kill him any less." Eric said, and I smiled, knowing he at least shared some of my feelings.

"Yes, and I thought I should bring up the fact that since I was Sophie-Anne's number two man, I am now the new king of Louisiana." He said, and Eric bowed deeply suddenly, as if we hadn't just talked about killing Alec.

"Your majesty." He muttered. I just stared at him, shocked. He poked me in the side, and I followed suit.

"Thank you." Alec said happily. "As I was saying, I am now the new king, and you both will be forever held in the upmost respect in this state, or any other state we so happen to be in at the same time. I am giving this to you as an… apology of some sorts for your terrible misfortune to come across Sophie- Anne's vision. Oh, yes, and I think Sookie had grown attached to that… Victor. He's alive, in case you hadn't noticed, and he is going to be the new king of Mississippi once the magister clears him of all charges, which he will since they have wonderful evidence to back up their innocence from this whole ordeal. And I will personally not be setting charges." He said. "And I believe his brother… Adder or Alder or something will be his number two. I believe they are brothers." He added.

"You are very kind, sir. Thank you." Eric said humbly, and I was shocked yet again. Eric saying thank you? I was poked in the side again.

"Um, thank you?" I said uncertainly. Alec nodded in my direction and I looked to Eric who straightened up, and I did the same.

"And I want to offer you something." Alec said. I turned my head to him. "Freedom." He said, and I was left confused again. I looked to Eric who was looking at him with surprise and respect.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, turning back. I already was free. Well, not from him, but … oh.

"Sookie, as your maker, I release you." He said. I wasn't prepared at all. No one told me what to expect from this, what I was going to be feeling, or that I would even be released. No one told me the seriousness of it, either.

The effect was instantaneous. There was something like a snap in my mind, and it hurt. I never thought it would hurt, but I guess a connection that big suddenly being severed would be major.

The pain was only for half a second though, and then I was overwhelmed by another feeling as Eric's blood overpowered Alec's now useless blood.

The power and control held into it, the feeling of devotion and love and respect was overwhelming, and I fell to the ground by the suddenness of it. I could feel Eric, feel the connection we had. This was what it was supposed to be like before. I was supposed to wake up, and I was supposed to feel this.

And then I remembered everything from my old life. It wasn't like a rush of memories suddenly bombarding me. It was more like I had never forgotten everything. The memories were just there, all of them, and it was wonderful that I finally knew who I was. I knew who the real Sookie Stackhouse was.

I started a list in my head of everyone I needed to see, to reassure them I was alright. Sam, Jason, Tara… wow, they would be scared half to death about me. They probably called the cops, and I would have to explain to them as well, and they would most likely get really annoyed, tag me off as a fang banger who didn't care about their time. Later, I would feel terrible regret for the things I had done in the battle, and the people I had fed on, but not now. Right now I only tried to focus on the joy waking up from that cold and empty place my memories had been in.

My eyes were staring at the sky, and I was looking at Eric's wondered expression. Jeez, I wish I had been given a little warning before they hit me with this.

"Wow." I whispered.

"Wow." He whispered back, obviously feeling a small percentage of what I went through. And then we were both smiling and he was kissing me again. I sat up, then stood up. Alec had run back to the clearing. Not even a goodbye. Whatever. I hadn't forgiven him, but I was still thankful that he had given me this.

"This feels amazing." I said. The shock was still full blown, from the sudden impact of this bond, and it felt wonderful.

"I know." He whispered smiling. He had the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen when he smiled sweetly. He was a dream guy, my dream guy.

"I can… you know I can release you too, if that's what you want." He whispered, looking away, obviously pained by the idea. I was too.

I cupped either side of his head, turning his eyes back to me.

"No, not yet. I just want to be like this with you for a while. I like the feeling of devotion I have. I like the feeling of power you have. I like the feeling of… love we have." I said, smiling. He kissed me so lightly on the lips that I swear I felt electricity course through my body and I shivered. But then I realized what I had to do. The real Sookie Stackhouse wasn't a procrastinator, nor was she a wimp. I just needed to get this conversation over with.

"I lied." I started, splaying my arms out in front of me. "Um, I lied about not wanting to be this way." I continued. Eric's head moved away from mine so he could see my face more clearly. I cleared my throat, looking down and away from his dangerously piercing eyes. "If I wasn't this way, my time with you would have been so short. Way, way too short." I folded my arms across my stomach.

Eric stayed silent, and his silence made me uncomfortable. He wouldn't forgive me. The clarification was so sudden and severe that I shivered, but I continued anyways. He needed to know, if not for him, for me.

"I don't want to die. If I died, again, I wouldn't be with you." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now for the hard part. I had basically already said it to him in little hints, but saying it flat out was a little bit more difficult.

"Eric, you are all I have."I muttered quietly. "You were the first one I saw when I woke up. You stayed with me, comforted me, and fought with me. I was falling apart, yet you seemed to build me together again, and again. And when I told I hated you, I hated what you did to me, you still came back." I looked up then, my eyes brimming with new tears. "Eric, you came back for me." I whispered.

I looked down again, taking a deep breath and pushing the tears back.

"Okay, so what I am trying to say is, and I know you don't feel the same way but I just need to tell you, that um, I…" my voice faded out.

Come on, Sookie! Toughen up a bit! Just say it, get it out, and take whatever you have coming.

"Eric, I'm in love with you." I said, looking up at him. His eyes were wide, his fangs still forward from the fight. He was obviously shocked, and his mouth was hanging open slightly.

"Eric, I know you don't feel the same, but—" I said, but was thrown onto my back his lips smashing into mine.

I was shocked, and I didn't respond at first, but then I realized what he was doing, what he was saying without saying it.

So I gripped the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me and opening my mouth to let his tongue roam over mine. Mm, he tasted so sweet. I felt my finger and legs tingling. My hands caressed his cheeks and face and chest as tears fell down my face. I was happy in his arms. That was the best way to describe how I felt at the moment, no matter how lame it sounds. I was just… happy.

His lips greedily attacked mine, and the feeling was amazing. To realize that I was the one who got this reaction out of him was more than I could have asked for. His own hands roamed over me, and then rested on my face, cupping my cheeks and then holding the back of my neck so I arched up into his chest.

For once he wasn't kissing me with the lust filled need he always had. This kiss was just for feeling, just so he could feel my lips against his; know that I was kissing him back with the same fervor.

He pulled back suddenly, and I looked up at him, confused. Could he be so cruel as to leave me now? Oh god, I would crumble away to dust if he left. Please, please just hold onto me forever, Eric.

"What is this?" he asked me curiously, holding my hand. He wiped away the blood to reveal my hand glowing with a sparkly blue. It was lighter, glitterier than the other blue that resulted in uncontrolled violence in me.

"It isn't burning you." I said with surprise.

"No, it feels amazing." He whispered. It could have been from the bond, or it could have been that my emotions controlled the effect of this fae power, but I didn't care at the moment. He was looking at me with wonder, and… could it be? Could he love me as well? No, I doubted he would ever leave me.

And then suddenly we were a tangle of limbs, fighting for our own needs, searching for love in each other and finding it instantly. I had never felt so… comforted. I was comfortable in his warm embrace, his soft kisses all over my body. Our hands were roaming over each other, remembering each other's body, marveling in each other's beauty. And we would never part after this. We would always be connected one way or another.

We searched for release from the tragedies of our lives; we searched for happiness in each other's bodies. We found calmness once we settled down, and we found each other's hearts in each other's hands. And I was drifting on my own cloud in my own world and everything was just… perfect. For once in my crazy life, everything was perfect.

"Sookie Stackhouse, I have never felt love in my life, but if this is what it feels like, I never want to let you go." He whispered against my lips, his cool body pressed against mine. It was so comforting, reminding me he was here with me now, forever and always.

"Then don't." I begged. "Hold onto me, forever."

"Forever."

**AN: That's it. All done. I hope you like the ending and I didn't disappoint you at all. I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed or added my story to their alerts or favorites. It kept me writing more. Thanks **


End file.
